Unexpected Additions
by DizzyDisneyDayDream
Summary: LoRayne and Elizabeth had just planed on spending the weekend watching movies. However, an excitable dog has other plans. This is the story of how two friends react to being thrown into the world of Middle Earth. New friendships are formed and old ones are tested as these two girls tag along on the quest to retake Erebor. Kili/oc and slight Fili/oc.
1. Runaway Dog!

**Runaway Dog!**

"Come on pooper, let's go outside!"

At the word outside, the mass of black fur sprang up from its lying position on the couch and sprinted out of the living room and into the back entry way. Slowly Elizabeth shook her head at the silly nature of the dog, a chuckle escaping her lips as she followed the canine. Walking from the living room as well, she saw that the dog was waiting excitedly by the door. Smiling, the girl walked over to the door and opened it so that the dog could look out the screen door while she got ready.

It was a lovely winter's day in Minnesota, the sun was shining which caused the newly fallen snow to shine bright. It wasn't that cold out though so Elizabeth didn't bother with putting her jacket or mittens on. She did, however, slip into her father's large snow boots like always. At this point, the furry animal was getting restless. It longed to go outside, not only to go to the bathroom, but to also play in the snow.

"All right, we're going." The girl said softly as she looked down at the animal.

She cast her hazel eyes down to the boot box and black leash that sat on top of it. She hated the hassle of trying to clip it to the dog. It took a couple minutes for him to sit which was needed before the leash could be attached, or so her parents said.

"If I don't put the leash on, do you promise you won't run away?" She asked the dog who gave her a loud bark. "I'll take that as a yes. Let's go!"

Pulling down the handle, she watched as the dog took off across the small deck, down the small set of stairs, and across the driveway into the yard. The girl watched as her large puppy ran happily through the snow, pouncing on small piles.

"Come on you goon! Lets go potty." She called after a couple minutes; stepping down from the deck and making her way towards the front where the track was. The track was a pathway that her dad made in the snow with the shovel. It wrapped around the front of the lawn and formed a somewhat snow-less path for them to follow. "Come on Zeus!"

The dog's head snapped up at his name. Catching sight of one of his owners, he let out a bark before barreling towards her. The girl let out a small yell of laughter as the dog ran past her, turned around, jumped up on her, and then ran away again. He was having so much fun, loving the snow that lay around him. Elizabeth watched as he ran all around the yard before stopping by one of the trees to do his business.

"Bwah!" A voice cried from behind as cold hands were placed on Elizabeth's exposed neck.

Even though she knew who it was, Elizabeth gave a small yelp of surprise.

"LoRayne! Do you really have to do that every time you come over?" She asked irritated but with a smile on her face.

The blonde girl nodded her head, a large smile on her face. "Yes. I can't help it, it's so much fun!"

The brunette slowly rolled her eyes before turning back to look at her dog. He had finished his business and was now running around the yard again. She figured that she might as well let him continue for a few moments more.

"So are you ready for our marathon?" LoRayne asked excitedly while bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"You mean our marvel marathon with a little extra Hiddles thrown in? Absolutely!"

The two friends were often having what they called 'nerdends'. Weekends were they did nothing but geek out over some of their favorite actors and movies. Last week had been a Lord of the Rings themed weekend, which finished with a visit to the nearest cinema for a viewing of The Hobbit. This weekend was being dedicated to the wonders that was the marvel movies as well as movies featuring Tom Hiddleston.

"Great! Can we go in and get started? It's starting to get cold!"

Elizabeth nodded in response as a sharp wind blew over them causing them both to shiver. "Come on Zeus! Let's go back inside." She called, wanting to get out of the wind and start the weekend.

The dog turned to look at her for a moment before he started playing again. This bugged Elizabeth. "I'll be right back." She assured her friend before crossing her arms over her chest and started making her way over to the young dog that didn't want to listen to her.

"Come on, Zeus. Time to go in." She said, anger slowly slipping into her voice. The wind had blown again sending shivers down her spine.

The dog stopped what he was doing and looked at her. Elizabeth had finally reached him and was about to grab his collar to lead him inside when the dog bolted. He didn't want to go back inside so he did the only thing that made sense to him, run away from the girl that wanted to bring him inside. He ran to the opposite side of the yard, hunched down, and looked at her. His tongue lulled out of his mouth as he painted happily, thinking they were playing some sort of game. This only got the girl really mad, however. Irritation flooded her face as she started towards the dog again only from him to jump and run away when she got close. In the background, she could hear LoRayne laughing.

"Ugh! You promised that you wouldn't run away!" She moaned to the dog before calling over her shoulder, "This isn't funny."

"It kinda is." LoRayne defended between giggles.

"You could help you know."

"You could try asking nicely."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Puh-lease."

Zeus watched the two girls bicker for a moment before he caught sight of something much more entertaining; a rabbit sitting quietly by a bush. Without any hesitation, he quickly took off in the direction of the rabbit, a look of pleasure on his face. Not liking the looks of the charging black mass, the rabbit darted off. This of course caused the dog to go after it. Hoping the small barrier of snow, he took off down the street and after the small frightened creature.

"No! Zeus!" Elizabeth cried, having heard the dogs footsteps crunch in the snow.

Without thinking, both she and LoRayne started to run across the yard, Elizabeth nearly falling from the over sized boots she wore, and into the street after the dog. He had a large head start, but this hadn't been the first time that dog had run away. Elizabeth knew how to handle the situation. Zeus would run until he either caught the rabbit or the rabbit lost him. He would then usually wander around people's yards. Elizabeth knew that she had to keep up with the dog so that she knew what house he ended up at when he finally stopped running. If she didn't keep up with him, she knew that it could take up to an hour or so to find him because he never seemed to stay in the same place for long. LoRayne wasn't exactly sure what she should do, so she just ran along beside her friend.

Suddenly, at the bottom of the hill, Elizabeth hit a patch of ice. Normally, if she had been walking and wearing shoes that actually fit, it wouldn't have been a problem. She would have been able to catch herself by throwing out her arms for balance. But because she was wearing boots three sizes to big and was running, as soon as her feet connected with the ice they were thrown out from under her. And because LoRayne was standing next to her, she was brought down as well when Elizabeth tried to use her as a way to regain her balance. The last thing the two girls remembered before they blacked out was an incredible pain in the back of each of their heads and Zeus' barking.

_Authors Note:: Okay, so i would like to thank my best friend for talking me into posting this. Please tell me what you think in a message or review, I would really appreciate it. The next chapter will be a little more interesting and up soon._


	2. Where are we?

**Where are we?**

Neither girl was sure of how much time had passed, they only became aware of the fact that bright sunlight was warming their faces and seeping through their closed eyelids. Each girl felt a pounding in her head like nothing before. The brunette slowly opened her eyes, squinting from the light, and pushed herself up into a sitting position. Bringing her hands to her face, she rubbed her eyes before looking around.

"Rainey?" She said tentatively upon seeing her blonde friend lying only a foot away. "Are you okay?"

"No." The word came out quiet and in a moan as the girl started to move. Sitting up, she blinked a few times to allow her eyes to adjust before looking around as well. "Where are we?" She asked a moment later.

"I don't know..."

The two slipped into silence as they took in their surroundings. They sat in the middle of a dirt road surrounded by large trees. The air was warm against their skin when they could have sworn it had once been cold. It was weird. After a while, Elizabeth became too tired to sit up so she lay on her back and placed her arm over her eyes to block out the sun. LoRayne stayed seated and watched before resting her forehead on her knees which were brought up to her chest. They were like this when they were found.

"I say, are you two ladies alright?"

Both girls lifted their heads and saw an older man standing not to far from them. He wore a dull gray cloak and scarf with a matching hat atop long gray hair. He also had a long gray beard and held a rather interesting looking staff in his hand. At the sight of him, both girls immediately had the feeling that they knew who he was but were unable to match his face to a name or think of where they would have known him from.

"Not really." LoRayne answered before placing her head in hands again while Elizabeth sat up.

"Are you injured?" The man asked, quickening his step so he was soon standing about a foot in front of them.

This time it was Elizabeth who answered, "I don't think so, sir. At least I'm not. But I've seemed to have hit my head rather badly." As she finished, she closed her eyes and began to rub her temples gently in an effort to drive her headache away.

"I think I hit my head really hard, too. I'm seeing black spots." LoRayne added quickly, her voice muffled by her hands.

Everything was quiet for a moment before both girls stiffened. A hand had been placed at the tops of their heads and words they didn't understand were being muttered above them. They both relaxed when the pain started to go away. Once the hands were removed from their heads, they opened their eyes and smiled up at the stranger.

"I don't know how you did that, but thank you." Elizabeth said happily, pushing herself up so that she was standing in front of the man.

"Yeah, thanks" LoRayne said as well, copying the action.

The old man shook his head, a kind smile on his face, "It was nothing, my dears. Always a pleasure to help those in need."

The brunette offered a smile before offering her hand. "I'm Elizabeth Ward." It seemed rude not to introduce herself to the man that had helped them. "And this is my best friend LoRayne Chase."

The bearded man took her small hand in his large one and gave his a quick shake before letting go and repeating the gesture with LoRayne. "A pleasure. I am Gandalf." The man's smile then faltered slightly as a thought came to mind. "May I ask why the two of you were laying in the middle of the road? You were not attacked were you?" His voice was laced with genuine worry.

The two girls stood there for a moment, trying to remember why they were there. Neither could come up with an answer.

"In all honesty, sir, we're not sure. We kind of woke up here." LoRayne stammered slightly, Gandalf was rather intimidating even though he sounded worried.

"Wherever here is." Elizabeth added under her breathe as she once again took in the sights that surrounded her.

They stood on a long dirt road that seemed to go on forever in both directions. Lining the road were large trees that seemed to reach the clear blue sky above them. The weather was warm and birds could be heard singing happily in the trees. Everything was so vibrant that Elizabeth found it hard to look away. In the back of her mind, she knew that she had seen this all before. She just couldn't put her finger on it.

"Well my dears, you are a few miles outside of The Shire." Gandalf said before turning from the young girls and to the sky, calculating the suns position. He was late. Lifting his staff, he turned back. "I am terribly sorry, but I have a very important appointment with a Hobbit; although he does not yet know I am coming." He mumbled the last bit but the girls still heard what was said. "Would you care you join me? It seems wrong that I should leave a pair of young ladies alone were trouble could find them."

"One moment please." LoRayne said before pulling Elizabeth a few feet away from the man. Once they were alone, she lowered her voice so as not to be overheard. "Should we go with him?"

Elizabeth looked back over her shoulder at the old man who was waiting patiently for them, his weight supported by his staff, which he was now leaning on. Turning back to her friend, she nodded.

"I think so. He hasn't hurt us yet." As an after though she added, "Plus we don't know where we are and I don't really fancy trudging through the woods only to be attacked by something or someone."

The blonde stood there for a moment, thinking over what had just been said before nodding her head slowly. "I guess you are right." She agreed before walking back to the old man, Elizabeth following close behind. "We accept your offer graciously."

A small smile formed on the elderly man's lips as he straightened up. "Wonderful. Let us go." With a sweep of his gray cloak he started down the road with the two girls following behind.

_Authors Note:: So that was the second chapter. I hope it was more entertaining. Because I forgot to say so above and in the first chapter, I would like to say that I own nothing of the Hobbit, either its character or its plot and stuff. I only own Elizabeth and LoRayne. If I get something wrong, please tell me so that I can fix it._


	3. Mr Gandalf

**Mr. Gandalf**

They were able to go about a mile before Elizabeth started to slowly trail behind, her too big boots being the cause of it. After another half mile she stopped all together before slipping her feet from them to reveal her mismatched pair of socks, one blue and the other green. She then picked up the boots and carried one in each hand.

"I do not think it wise to wander around without footwear, Miss. Ward." The old man said cautiously.

Elizabeth could tell that he was looking out for her best interest, but she shook her head nonetheless. "Do not worry about me. I'm a pretty big fan of walking around barefoot." She assured as they continued on their journey.

As they walked, the gray wizard took the time to cast a sideways glance at his female companions, taking in their appearance clearly for the first time. Miss. Ward was the taller of the two with rosy cheeks and light brown hair that was pulled up into a messy bun. She wore a baggy dim gray garment over her chest and baggy black fabric on her legs. The other girl, Miss. Chase, was slightly shorter then her friend and had long blonde hair that hung loose around the middle of her back. Her skin was pale and fair, which caused her clear blue eyes to stand out even more. She wore a strange looking black overcoat without buttons, a bright purple tunic with what looked like green lettering on it, tight blueish material on her legs, and oddly colored boots on her feet.

Both were considerably shorter than he was and had normal shaped ears that meant neither of them were elves. However, they were much too tall and had to small of feet to be Hobbits. Which meant they could either be humans or Dwarf women. Because of their slender frames and lack of facial hair, he found it safe to assume that they were both human. But that didn't explain their odd attire.

The three of them walked silently for a few minutes before Gandalf felt the need to voice his curiosity. "My dears, would either of you mind if I ask you both a rather forward question?"

The girls both turned their heads to look at him, LoRayne nodding her head while Elizabeth offered an encouraging smile.

"Please do not think it rude of me to point out, but you are both dressed rather oddly. I have been around these parts many a time and I have never come across anyone dressed like yourselves. I can only wonder where you are from."

Gandalf watched the two girls faces fall slightly, looks of confusion slowly settling in. It was a while before either girl spoke. LoRayne, being able to regain her ability of speech first, answered the question slowly.

"I know that this is probably going to sound a bit weird, but I personally don't remember where we're from." Elizabeth nodded her agreement, so couldn't remember where they were from either. LoRayne paused, thinking over how to say the next part. "I'm having trouble remembering a lot, actually."

"Not where you are from?"

"No." Both girls answered in unison.

"Not what had happened?" The wizard asked.

"Afraid not." This time it was Elizabeth who answered.

Gandalf had one last question. "Do either of you know where we are?"

"We do not know, sir."

The once smiling and happy girls had been replaced with sad and confused ones. Gandalf felt terrible because it was his questions that changed the moods of the young woman so quickly. He did find a little comfort in the fact that they had joined him on his journey to the Hobbit's house though because it was made apparent that neither of them would have been able to handle themselves on their own.

"Why are you going to this one Hobbit's house if he doesn't know that you're coming?" Elizabeth asked to break the silence that had yet again fallen on the group.

This question stumped the wizard for he was unsure of how he should answer. There was such a long pause that Elizabeth was just about to tell him to forget it when she was given an answer.

"I am going to this Hobbit's house because I think he would be a valuable member for a quest that is about to take place."

"A quest?" LoRayne asked, her interest being peeked. "What type of quest?" Neither she nor her friend may have remembered a lot about themselves at the moment, but she knew what a quest was. A quest was a chance at adventure and adventurs were fun… right?

Again Gandalf hesitated, but for a shorter amount of time. "I am going to be in a company of thirteen Dwarves, myself, and Mr. Bilbo if he chooses to join us. Together we shall travel across Middle Earth to the Lonely Mountain where we hope to reclaim the once magnificent mountain civilization that was Erebor."

Silence fell over the travelers as they all became lost in their thoughts. The girls were both thinking about how wonderful it would be to go out on an adventure, to see more of the place they have stumbled upon. The wizard that walked beside them had similar thoughts running through his head, a plan forming that involving his two young companions.

The silence continued until they were about a mile away from their destination, Hobbiton slowly coming into view.

"I think that we shall be arriving shortly. When we get to Mr. Baggins house, allow me to do all the talking. And it may be best if you change. I'm sure Master Hobbit will be able to find suitable clothes for you."

LoRayne and Elizabeth nodded their understanding and remained silent.

"Just up the hill." Gandalf assured ten minutes later as they entered the small town that was Hobbiton. Walking along the paths, both girls noticed that the people that lived there gave them more than a few curious glances. They now understood why Gandalf suggested that they change clothes.

The inhabitants of Hobbiton were all commonly dressed. The men in breeches, button up shirts, and suspenders while the women wore simple dresses. All had curly hair and all were barefoot. The feet in questioned startled the girls at first because they were all so large and covered in curly hair as well. Even the children were running around with large feet.

A group of four boys and a girl ran past, laughing and yelling to one another. But they stopped in their tracks when they caught sight of the girls and what they were wearing. They stood there with their little mouths open and confusion written on their faces. They had never seen humans before, let alone ones so oddly dressed.

LoRayne noticed them staring and sent a glare in their direction, something that frightened the children and caused them to run away. She didn't liked being looked at in that manner so she didn't really care that she had scared the children. Elizabeth shook her head at her friends' action but didn't say anything. She hadn't liked being stared at either.

_Authors Note:: Sorry if things seem a little boring right now, but it's building. It will pick up soon, I promise. Thank you to the people who have already reviewed, followed, and favorited this story. You all are amazing and you have no idea how much it means to me._


	4. Good morning

**Good morning**

Walking up a hill, the two followed until the great wizard stopped in front of a Hobbit enjoying a pipe, his eyes closed. A ring of smoke hung in the air and the two girls watched as it transformed into a small, delicate butterfly. It fluttered a bit before landing on the Halflings nose where is disappeared in a puff. Startled, the girls watched as it opened it's eyes and stared at Gandalf.

"Good morning." Bilbo Baggins greeted after a bit, unsure of why a man in gray and two oddly dressed girls were standing in front of him.

Both girls opened their mouths to return the greeting and introduce themselves but were cut off by Gandalf speaking instead.

"What do you mean? Do you mean to wish me a good morning or do you mean that it is a good morning whether I like it or not? Or perhaps you mean to say that you feel good on this particular morning. Or are you simply stating that this is a morning to feel good on?"

The Hobbit stared open mouthed at the wizard, seemingly trying to understand what had just happened. Elizabeth herself was also trying to make out exactly what the gray-cloaked man had just said.

"All of them at once, I suppose."

In response to that, Gandalf just leaned against his staff and let out what sounded like a groan and a thoughtful hum combined.

The Hobbit shifted slightly on the bench before turning back towards the wizard.

"Can I help you?" He asked, still unsure of why the wizard was there.

"That remains to be seen. I'm looking for someone to share in an adventure."

"An adventure?" Now Mr. Baggins really looked confused. "Now I don't imagine anyone west of Bree would have much interest in adventures." He pushed himself from the bench and started making his way towards the mailbox. "Nasty, disturbing, uncomfortable things. Make you late for dinner."

Reaching over the gate, he grabbed his mail before placing his pipe back in his mouth and sorting through it. In between flipping through letters, his eyes shot toward an unmoved Gandalf. After an awkward moment, he slapped the envelopes against his palm before removing his pipe to give a 'good morning' and turning away in the direction of his front door.

"You think that I should've lived to be "good morning-ed" by Belladonna Took's son? As if I was selling buttons from the door?"

Mr. Baggins stopped halfway up the stone steps and turned to look at the wizard once again.

"I beg your pardon?" He said, sounding slightly offended. He did not know this man and yet he was bringing up his mother and offering what sounded like an insult.

"You've changed, and not entirely for the better Mr. Bilbo Baggins."

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Bilbo asked, really offended now that a stranger was indeed insulting him.

Now it was Gandalf's turn to be offended. "Well you know my name. Although you don't remember that I belong to it. I am Gandalf. And Gandalf means…me."

"Gandalf?" Bilbo said quietly, his face drawn up in concentration. "Not Gandalf the wandering Wizard that made such excellent fireworks? Old Took used to have them on Midsummer's Eve." The Wizard in question gave a smile, happy to see that he was indeed remembered and was getting praise. The feeling didn't last long, however, as Bilbo continued. "I had no idea you were still in business."

"And where else should I be?" Gandalf inquired, his face turning to slight annoyance.

"Where else—" Bilbo started but stopped himself from upsetting the Wizard by placing his pipe back into his mouth.

"Well, I'm pleased to find you remember something about me," Gandalf said with a sigh, "Even if it's only my fireworks." His face dropped with slight disappointment. "Yes. Well, that's decided. It will be very good for you and most amusing for me. I shall inform the others."

Both girls turned to the Wizard, unsure of what had just happened. Did he mean that he was going to inform the Dwarves? But inform them of what? They were not the only ones confused.

"Inform the who? What? No. No. Wait." He said quickly, pointing the end of his pipe at the man. "We do not want any adventures here, thank you. Not today. No—" As he complained, he quickly moved up the stone steps until he was standing in front of his door. "I suggest you try Over the Hill or Across the Water." He continued to gesture with the end of his pipe for a moment before muttering another "Good Morning" and quickly before stepping into his house and shutting the door.

"Well that went well." LoRayne said sarcastically, earning an eye roll from Gandalf.

_Authors Note:: Next update the girls interact with Bilbo so hopefully it will be more entertaining. Then the girls talk over some stuff before the real fun begins in the form of the Dwarves arriving. So hang in there guys._


	5. Mr Baggins

**Mr. Baggins**

The three stood outside the fence for a moment before Gandalf opened the gate and started walking up towards the house. The two girls could tell that the Hobbit was obviously upset and didn't understand why the elderly man was now walking towards the door, even though the Hobbit had said no.

"What's that?" LoRayne asked, pointing at the mark Gandalf had just drawn on the door. It had shone bright blue before fading away slightly.

"That, Miss. Chase, is what will lead the Dwarves to this house." Gandalf replied before gathering the front of his robe and taking a step towards the window. He stood there looking in for a few seconds before turning back to the two girls. "Now, I shall return shortly. Once I am down the path, merely knock on the door. I'm sure that if he does not see me here and you are polite, he will allow you in." The old man instructed before making his way down the steps, throwing open the gate, and down the walkway; humming a faint tune as he went. Once he was out of sight like he had said, Elizabeth gave a gentle knock on the door.

"I've already said I do not care for going on an adventure! Please go away!" A voice cried from the other side.

"Mr. Baggins, Mr. Gandalf has gone." Elizabeth assured, a headache once again starting to form.

From the other side of the door came the sound of tumbling as Mr. Baggins unlocked the door, opening it a crack when he was finished. He stuck his head out cautiously at first, but when he saw that it was indeed the two girls he opened it farther.

"Right." He commented, a look of relief on his face before it was replaced with suspicion. "Are you here to try and talk me into joining the adventure? Because if so I must say that it is very rude…"

"No," LoRayne interrupted, "We are not here to try and persuade you into going on the adventure. We are here wondering if you could help us."

"We were wondering if we might be able to come in and rest for a bit. We know that you do not know us, but we've just been through a bit of an ordeal. " Elizabeth started cautiously, she wasn't sure how she should word it. She didn't want to come off as rude and end up with a door slammed in her face like Gandalf. She wasn't sure what they would do if that happened. They had no idea where they were and Gandalf had gone who knows where.

"You see," LoRayne, seeing her friends struggle for words, said. "We've kind of had an accident in the woods. Gandalf found us and thought that you might be able to help."

While the two girls had been talking, the Hobbit's face started to soften. He could tell by the way that they were acting and the tones of their voices that they were frightened and unsure of what to do. Plus they had said that they weren't here on Gandalf's behalf.

"I'm terribly sorry." He said before moving away from the door, pushing it open so that they could enter. "Please, come in."

The two girls were a little hesitant to enter the Hobbit's house, for they knew little about him. They had trusted Gandalf so quickly because they felt as though they knew him and because he had helped them. But they were both so tired that they pushed through their hesitation and stepped inside.

Right away they were glad that they had entered. The Hobbit-Hole was warm and comfortable. LoRayne bent down and removed her boots while Elizabeth placed hers to the side and wiped her feet on the mat. Once they were finished and had straightened up, they both offered their hands to the Hobbit in front of them.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves. I'm Elizabeth Ward." The brunette introduced, grasping the Halflings hand in hers before giving a small shake.

"And I'm LoRayne Chase." The blonde greeted, taking the Hobbit's hand once her friend had let it go.

"A pleasure to meet you both. I am Bilbo Baggins." He said before turning and leading the way into the sitting room. "Please, come and have a seat. You both must be tired."

Indeed the two girls were extremely tired and were thankful for the opportunity to sit. Elizabeth and LoRayne crossed the room and plopped down on the couch, sighs of relief exiting their mouths.

"So you were saying Gandalf found you laying on the road? What had happened?" Bilbo asked after taking a seat in the armchair across from them.

The two friends shared a look before turning back to the owner of the house. They were both quiet for a moment before LoRayne worked up the courage to speak. She had always been the more brave and outgoing of the two.

"You see Mr. Baggins, we aren't entirely sure what happened. We just sort of woke up in the middle of the road."

This confused the Hobbit greatly. He tried so hard to keep himself from being nosy, but his curiosity was too great.

"How is that possible? Do you remember anything?"

Elizabeth answered this time with a shake of her head. "No, sir. In fact, there is a lot that we don't remember. How it happened, where we live, or even specific details about our lives. We remember our names and small things, but nothing that is really helpful."

"You poor dears." Bilbo said with a sad shake of his head. He truly felt bad for these girls that he had just met. As he sat there, another question came to mind. "Um, would you mind if I asked you another question?" He asked, wanting to be more polite this time then just asking personal questions.

Both girls nodded in response, waiting for the question.

"Do forgive me if this is too forward, but what are you wearing?"

LoRayne and Elizabeth both found this question funny, laughing openly. Bilbo was confused once again, unknowing of how this was the second time someone had mentioned their clothing. Third if you counted the children staring at their attire just a few minutes ago.

"Sorry, we know it is rude to laugh. It's just that this is the second time in the past couple of hours that someone mentioned our clothing." Elizabeth explained once they had finished.

"Yes. We were wondering if maybe you could lend us some clothes? Gandalf said that you might be able to. I think I speak for both of us when I say I think we have had enough people staring at us for one day. That is, if you are willing. We understand if it's not possible." LoRayne added. She didn't want him to feel pressured.

Bilbo leaned back in his armchair, a look of thought slipping onto his face. The girls watched as he seemed to have a mini discussion in his head. After about a minute of silence, he started to nod his head before meeting the girls' eyes.

"I think I have some old clothes of my uncles that you may borrow. He was a bit taller so I am sure they will fit just well even though you aren't really that tall for humans. Follow me."

Pushing up from his chair, he then started to lead the girls through his house. Walking down the hallway, he pushed open a door to reveal a decent sized bed covered in a white comforter with lighter blankets folded at its foot. Crossing the room, he walked over to a dresser and began looking through it until he found what he was looking for. LoRayne and Elizabeth watched as he pulled out two pairs of brown breeches, a light blue button down and a creamy white button down.

"I can only imagine how tired you two must be. Please use this room to rest and change." He said when he turned around, a smile on his face.

The two girls returned the smile before stepping forward and accepting the clothes that he offered. Bilbo bid them pleasant dreams and promised to wake them in a few hours for lunch before leaving the room, closing the door behind him.

_Authors Note:: You guys are all so awesome. Thank you so much for your reviews and for alerting and adding my story to your favorites list. Now I have a question. Is anyone else super excited for the first look at __**The Desolation of Smaug**__ tomorrow? I honestly can not wait!_


	6. Sleep

**Sleep**

"I like him, he's a little uptight but nice." Elizabeth said with faint smile, her face turned towards the door that had just been closed.

"Yup." LoRayne agreed before taking a set of clothes and walking towards a corner of the room. "Turn around, I wanna change."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes before taking the other set of clothes to a corner of the room to change as well. The clothes were a little baggy around the stomach and shoulders, but were comfortable so it was all right. The breeches came down just a little past both girls' knees and the sleeves to the shirts were a little short but were fine when rolled up to the elbows. They then took their old clothes, folded them, and placed them in a pile on a chair in the corner.

"So who gets the bed?" LoRayne asked through a yawn.

Elizabeth turned to face her friend and made eye contact before stepping towards the bed. She didn't get far before she was grabbed by the arm and pulled backward. LoRayne tried to walk past her but in turn was grabbed by the back of the shirt and held in place. The small fight went on for a few seconds longer until LoRayne was the first to reach the bed, a triumphant smile on her face as she sat down.

Elizabeth just glared before grabbing one of the pillows. "I like the floor better anyway." She mumbled, lightly smacking the blonde with her pillow as she passed causing the other girl to chuckle. The brunette also grabbed the spare blankets from the foot of the bed before she started to make a little place for herself on the floor. Once it was ready, she lied down and covered herself.

Everything was quiet for a while as the two girls tried to sleep. It was nice. LoRayne was just about to fall asleep when Elizabeth spoke quietly.

"Do you think Gandalf is going come back?"

"He said he would." LoRayne answered after a long pause, her words half muffled from her pillow. "He's got that quest, remember?"

"Oh yeah." Elizabeth started, pausing to let out a loud yawn. "I wonder what it's about. I know Gandalf said that they were going to try and take back that one place, but why?"

"I'm sure that they are going after treasure or going to save someone. Isn't that what quests are usually about?"

Another pause. Another round of yawns.

"I bet it would be fun to go on an adventure, see the world." Elizabeth muttered before falling asleep.

"Yeah." LoRayne agreed before giving into sleep as well.

The two slept for hours. Bilbo came in to wake them for lunch a little after noon, but after seeing the two laying there peacefully, he couldn't bring himself to do it. So he left and told himself that he would be sure to wake them up for supper. And so he did.

It was a hard task getting the girls to wake up, each just pulled the covers higher over their heads when he called their names and shook their shoulders. However, when he mentioned food, their eyes snapped open and they sat up. They couldn't remember when the last time they had eaten was and they were both starving. Bilbo chuckled at their behavior before leave the room telling them that supper would be ready in a couple of minutes.

The girls sat in bed for a few seconds before getting up. Picking up her blankets and pillow, Elizabeth carried them over to the bed before setting them down. The bed was then made. Once that was finished, the two left the bedroom and followed the wonderful smell of food.

_Authors Note:: Okay, so this one is short, but next is when the Dwarves arrive! So get excited guys! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, alerted, or favorited this story. You guys are all amazing!._


	7. Arrival of the Dwarves

**Arrival of the Dwarves**

"Everything smells and looks wonderful, Mr. Baggins." LoRayne complimented as they walked into the small kitchen area.

The table was set simply, a tablemate under each plate, the silverware placed atop a clean napkin that rested slightly off to the side, and a small pot of flowers in the center of the table. On each plate sat an excellent smelling fish with a side of potatoes and carrots. It was all very lovely.

"Why thank you, Miss. Chase." Bilbo said, a look of pride upon is face. "Please, sit."

The two girls did as asked; sitting next to each other while Mr. Baggins took the seat across from them and in front of the fireplace. The three each took their napkins in hand, the girls placing theirs in their laps while Mr. Baggins tucked his into the front of his shirt. They then picked up their forks and knives and were about to tuck in when there came a few loud bursts from the doorbell.

"Who could that be at this hour?" Bilbo muttered to himself before rising from his seat. "I'll be right back." He assured before leaving to see who was at the door.

He was gone for a few minutes before a rather large and intimidating bald man with a brown beard streaked with gray stepped into the room. He wore large boots, furs over his shoulders, and had what appeared to be a set of knives strapped to his belt. Upon seeing the two girls seated at the table, he bent low into a bow and introduced himself.

"Dwalin, dear ladies, at your service."

The girls shared a surprised look out of the corner of their eyes before giving their names. They then watched as he walked over to the table, took Bilbo's previously occupied seat, and started to tuck into the Hobbit's meal.

It sure was a sight to see, a rather disturbing one. In a matter of minutes, the potatoes were inhaled, the carrots devoured, and the fish picked clean. Elizabeth watched in disbelief as the Dwarf placed the fish head in his mouth and munched on it. She had found herself distracted from her own meal, only able to eat small portions before she was pulled back into the spectacle that was watching the Dwarf eat. LoRayne, however, seemed to be unfazed. She almost finished her plate as quickly as Dwalin, just in a more civilized manner.

"Very good this, any more?" Dwalin asked, his mouth (and beard) full of food.

Bilbo, who had been watching on with a disgusted and irritated look on his face, slowly looked around before he saw a bowl of what looked like rolls.

"Help yourself." He said, offering the bowl to the Dwarf after carefully hiding one behind his back.

Dwalin looked at the bowl of food before grasping two in his large hand and shoved them both into his mouth.

The girls watched as Bilbo took a deep breath before speaking to Dwalin. "Mmm, it's just that-um, that I wasn't expecting company apart from the ladies."

Before anything else could be said, there was another ring from the doorbell.

"That'll be the door."

Bilbo cast the Dwarf a look before getting up to answer the door. The girls watched as Dwalin finished the rest of the bisects before getting up to look around. The girls followed behind, figuring that they would at least try to prevent him from ruining Bilbo's nice house.

He had walked into the sitting room and had his large hand in a small jar. As they got closer, they saw that it was a glass cookie jar and Dwalin was trying to get at the treasures within. He gave up quickly, however, when he saw who had been at the door walk into the room. It was another Dwarf, but this one was much shorter and had stark white hair and a matching beard.

"Evenin', brother!"

"By my beard," Dwalin said, a smile forming on his furry lips. "You've gotten shorter and wider since last we met."

"Wider, not shorter." The new dwarf stated, a smile on his lips as well. "Sharp enough for the both of us."

The two then placed theirs hands on each other's shoulders while they looked at each other. The two girls found it a little weird that they were staring at each other and were startled when the two Dwarves head butted each other. The Dwarves started talking in low voices, ignoring Bilbo who was trying to tell them that they were at the wrong house. Then the shorter of the two, Balin, caught sight of the pantry and started toward it with Dwalin, Bilbo, and the girls close behind.

"It's not that I don't like visitors," Bilbo started saying while the Dwarves started going through the food on the shelves and pouring themselves some ale. "I like visitors as much as the next Hobbit. But I would like to know them, before they come visiting."

"What is this?" Dwalin asked, taking something from Balin's hands. Neither of the Dwarves appeared to be listening to the Hobbit.

"I don't know, I think it's supposed to be cheese. But it's gone blue."

"It's riddled with mold." Dwalin agreed before throwing the cheese over his shoulder, nearly hitting Elizabeth who moved out of the way just in time.

"The thing is, I don't know either of you." Bilbo tried continuing. "Not in the slightest. I don't mean to be blunt, but I had to speak my mind. I'm sorry." He held up his hands apologetically, hoping not to have offended them.

The two Dwarves turned around and stared at Bilbo for a moment, Dwalin glaring slightly. The look caused the to Hobbit to wonder whether or not he truly had offended them. But that happened next just kind of confused him.

"Apology accepted." Balin said with a smile before turning away from the Hobbit.

Bilbo opened his mouth to speak only to be interrupted by the doorbell ringing.

"Please keep an eye on them." He whispered to Elizabeth and LoRayne before going to answer the door.

The girls watched him go before turning back to the Dwarves who were still looking at the food and talking about eating.

"If he thinks we can stop them from breaking or doing something, he's mad." Elizabeth muttered quietly to LoRayne. The blonde nodded in agreement.

Dwalin and Balin stayed in the pantry for about another minute before they decided they should see who else had just arrived, the girls following closely behind.

"Laddies!" Dwalin cried as he made his way towards the two newest Dwarves to enter Bilbo's house.

"Mr. Dwalin." One of the new arrivals said cheerfully before throwing his arms around the bald Dwarfs shoulders.

Dwalin let out a laugh before he wrapped his own arm around the first before grabbing the second as well. From behind, Elizabeth could see that one had light hair while the other's was dark.

"Lads," Dwalin said, releasing the two from the embrace and stepping aside "Meet some of the Hobbit's friends. Miss. Ward and Miss. Chase."

Elizabeth and LoRayne watched as the newcomers looked in their direction before hurrying over. The blonde had a very short beard of dark blond hair paired with a rather interesting mustache made up of two braids while the darker haired Dwarf had no facial hair whatsoever, just a bit of dark stubble. They looked very young and very attractive.

"Fili," The blonde one said, grasping LoRayne's hand in his.

"Kili," The dark haired one added, repeating the action with Elizabeth's hand.

"At your service." They finished together, bowing before kissing the top of each girl's hand.

The action was unexpected and caught both girls off guard. Both found themselves unable to say anything, they just stood there with their mouths opened slightly. When the Dwarves straightened and saw the looks of the girl's faces, they smirked before walking away to help Dwalin who had just asked for their assistants in the dining room.

"LoRayne!" Elizabeth said quietly, hitting her friends' shoulder while watching the two Dwarves leave. "That dark haired one was really cute!" She couldn't remember what he had said his name was, she had been too distracted by his face.

"You got that right!" LoRayne agreed, stepping forward a bit so that she could catch another look.

Their attention was quickly pulled from the hot Dwarves, however, when there was yet another loud knock on the door. From another room, they could hear the sound of Bilbo loudly complaining about how he didn't want any more visitors.

"There's nobody home! Go away and bother somebody else! There are far too many Dwarves in my dinning room as it is! If this is some clutheads idea at a joke, then I must say that it is in very poor taste." Bilbo said angrily before grabbing the door and opening it sharply.

Without warning, a large number of Dwarves fell into the room on top of each other. All of them grumbling and groaning as they tried to get up. Through the open door, Elizabeth, LoRayne, and Bilbo were able to see the instigator of all the madness as he leaned forward to look into the house.

"Gandalf." Bilbo sighed, a look of understanding on his face. He should have known the wizard was behind all this.

_Authors Note:: There you go, the Dwarves have now arrived so things should be more entertaining. Huge thank you's to the people who have reviewed, favorited, or alerted this story. You guys are awesome and it really means a lot to me. I love hearing what you have to say (:_


	8. Dinner with Dwarves

**Dinner with Dwarves**

Within minutes, everything was madness. Dwarves were all over the place. Some carried chairs while others carried food from the pantry. Bilbo stood in the middle of it all, trying to stop them from touching or breaking things but they didn't listen. They brought everything into the redecorated dining room, which now consisted of two tables pushed together and chairs all round it. Everything was so tight that there was barely any room to move.

LoRayne and Elizabeth stood off to the side watching it all. They had tried counting all Dwarves, having forgotten how many Gandalf had told them were going on the quest, but quickly stopped after they found it too difficult. There was so many of them in such a small place that it was hard to keep track of who was who and who was already counted. So instead they watch with slightly amused looks on their faces.

"Oh my god, look at that!" LoRayne said, pointing to a large Dwarf with red hair and a rope like beard carrying three large cheese wheels.

Seeing the Dwarf, Elizabeth let out a laugh before turning to Bilbo who looked shocked.

"I hope you have a cheese knife." He called after him.

A Dwarf with a black beard and strange hat stopped by Bilbo. "Cheese knife? He eats it by the block."

Both girls quickly turned from the Hobbit and black haired Dwarf to look at the red haired one. He had just sat down two of the cheese wheels and was biting into the third, a look of delight on his face. They found the sight funny and couldn't stop themselves from letting out loud laughs, earning a few looks from the passing Dwarves.

Within a matter of minutes, the Dwarves had cleaned the pantry of food and were all sitting around the table. There was a lot of laughter and stomping as food was thrown around and stuffed into faces. It was a horrendous sight but a comical one as well. Neither girl could take her eyes from the scene, faint smiles of amusement on their faces.

Carefully, they walked behind Dwarves, avoiding flying food and arms, until they came beside Gandalf. LoRayne had eaten the meal prepared for her by Mr. Baggins but that didn't mean that she wasn't still hungry. And Dwalin had distracted Elizabeth so she hadn't eaten anything. Reaching between the seated Dwarves, they grabbed some of the food on the table.

"Hey, Bombur!" The Dwarf with the funky hat called, "Catch!" He then threw a white blob, which the girls guessed was an egg or a bit of cheese, across the table and towards the large Dwarf with the rope beard who caught it in his mouth.

All the Dwarves, along with the two girls, let out yells of delight. Some even clapping their hands or slammed them on the table. More food was thrown around before the young blonde Dwarf with the braided-stach stepped up onto the table and started walking across it, handing out mugs of ale as he went.

Once he had returned to his seat, one of the Dwarves called for them all to drink at the same time. The others agreed and pushed their mugs towards the center of the table. They all knocked their tankards with those closest to them while one of them counted down from three. When 'one' was reached, they all brought their mugs to their mouths and drank.

Watching the Dwarves chug their alcohol was a rather appalling sight. A large majority of the Dwarves spilled more ale onto their beards and down their fronts then got the liquid into their mouths. Both girls stood there with equal looks of disgust on their faces. Once they were all finished drinking, the Dwarves slammed their mugs on the table before a few of them let out loud burps. The loudest and longest belonging to the small dwarf sitting in the corner.

"There are ladies present, you fool." The gray haired Dwarf sitting next to him scolded before pulling the now embarrassed Dwarf back down to his seat. The Dwarf that had belched gave a quick apology, his cheeks growing red, while the others around the table laughed.

It was shortly after that that everyone finished eating and started to leave the table to wonder around the house. Elizabeth and LoRayne left the dining room and went to standing in the hallway where there was more room. Leaning against the wall, they stood close together quietly and watched the Dwarves move around.

It wasn't long before an angry Bilbo came in complaining to a relatively amused Gandalf. He was so caught up in his complaints that he didn't even notice the two girls standing not too far from him.

"—destroyed the plumbing. I don't understand what they are doing in my house!" The Hobbit cried, stomping his large hairy foot in frustration.

Before Gandalf could answer, the Dwarf that had burped the loudest walked over. "Excuse me," He said politely, "I hate to interrupt. But what should I do with my plate."

"Here you go, Ori, give it to me." The young blonde Dwarf instructed as he walked over to them and grabbed the plate from Ori.

Then, to Bilbo's horror, the blonde Dwarf threw the plate across the room to the good-looking dark-haired Dwarf who caught it before he threw it into the next room. This led to all the other dishes to be thrown around. One plate flew so close to LoRayne's head that she had to duck to avoid it.

"Freakin' hell!" She said before glaring at the blonde Dwarf.

While she was doing that, Bilbo was back in the dining room telling the remaining Dwarves at the table to stop what they were doing or else they would blunt his knives. Of course they didn't listen.

"You hear that, Lads? He says we'll blunt the knives!" One of them said jokingly.

They continued to do what they had been doing before, knocking their silverware together and stomping their feet. Somehow, they started a rather catchy beat that prompted the Dwarves to sing.

"_Blunt the knives, bend the forks._" Mr. Good-looking started.

Elizabeth stood in the middle of the entryway staring at the Dwarf, plates flying by her head. LoRayne stood next to her, a smirk on her face.

"_Smash the bottles and burn the corks._" Blondie continued.

From then on, all the other Dwarves joined in.

_"Chip the glasses and crack the plates!_

_That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!_

_Cut the cloth, thread off the fat!_

_Leave the bones on the bedroom mat!_

_Pour the milk on the pantry floor!_

_Splash the wine on every door!_

_Dump the crocks in a boiling bowl;_

Pound them up with a thumping pole;

And when you've finished, if any are whole,

Send them down the hall to roll. "

That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!"

As they all finished singing, the two friends followed Bilbo it the kitchen where they plates had been thrown. Standing in the doorway, they saw, much to their surprise, all the dishes cleaned and stacked on the table. At the looks on their faces, the Dwarves all let out laughs and cries of 'look at their faces!' before being silenced by the sound of knocking.

"He is here." Gandalf announced quietly.

_Authors Note:: Thank you Guest for pointing out that one mistake, I fixed it. Thank you everyone who has reviewed, followed, or favorited this story so far. You all are awesome!_


	9. Thorin's Quest

**Thorin Oakenshield**

Everyone stood silently in the kitchen for a moment before hurrying towards the front entryway. There was no room for them all to stand in the entryway, so most of the Dwarves stood in the hallways leading into the room. Unsure of where to stand, LoRayne and Elizabeth walked over and stood beside Gandalf while Bilbo opened the door.

The man on the other side stood there with a blank expression on his face. He had dark hair streaked with gray and the dark forming of a beard on his face. On his shoulders was a long gray cloak. Stepping into the house, he turned toward the Wizard in gray and offered a small smile.

"Gandalf," He greeted in a quiet but powerful voice. "I thought you said this place would be easy to find. I lost my way –twice." While he spoke, he removed his cloak and all the Dwarves bowed. He then mentioned something about the mark on the door.

"There's no mark on the door, I'd just had it painted last week." Bilbo assured stepping forward.

"There is a mark because I put it there." Gandalf said to Bilbo before gesturing towards the newest arrive and introducing him to the Hobbit and the girls. "Bilbo, ladies, allow me to introduce you to the leader of our company: Thorin Oakenshield."

"So," Thorin handed his cloak to the handsome Dwarf before circling the girls and Halfling, "These are the ones you told me about- and this is the Hobbit?" His face showed his disappointment and displeasure as he looked them up and down. "They don't look like much." He said the comment quietly, almost to himself before looking at Bilbo. "Tell me Mr. Baggins, have you done much fighting?"

"Pardon me?" Bilbo asked, his brows furrowed together in confusion.

"Axe or sword? What is your weapon of choice?"

Bilbo's look of confusion slowly faded. "Well…I do have some skill at Conkers; if you must know." Bilbo answer almost sarcastically. "But I fail to see why that's relevant," he added shyly when he saw that the Dwarf leader was not amused.

"And what about you?" He asked, turning from Bilbo to look at the girls. "Do either of you have any skills in fighting?" His voice was laced with doubt.

LoRayne and Elizabeth looked to each other and shrugged their shoulders before answering. "Not that we know of." They said in unison.

Thorin didn't seem to like this answer, but before he could say anything, Gandalf stepped in. "If you would remember, I told you that these girls had been in an accident recently. Neither can remember much of their past."

"I do remember, but that doesn't offer much change. They are just women," He said before turning to Bilbo, "And he looks more like a grocer then a burglar."

The other Dwarves chuckled at the comment while their leader stepped away. Bilbo, Gandalf, and the girls watched them leave while they stayed put in the entryway. The Wizard let out a faint a sigh and leaned against a part of the ceiling before looking down at the three. Judging by his expression, the girls figured that things hadn't gone the way he had expected. Whether they went better than expected or worse than expected, they did not know.

"Well he's not intimidating at all is he?" LoRayne commented sarcastically, keeping her voice quiet so as not to be heard by the Dwarves in the other room.

Beside her, Elizabeth nodded her head. "I'm sure he just takes some getting used too." She suggested. As hard as she tried though, she couldn't keep the doubt from her voice.

"I guess we'll see." LoRayne said before heading off in the direction that the Dwarves had gone, Elizabeth, Bilbo, and Gandalf following closely behind.

The Dwarves had filed back into the dining room, taking their seats around the table once more. Thorin sat at the head of the table with Gandalf on his left. The girls brought over a bowl of soup and some biscuits before taking a seat by the wall behind Gandalf and everyone. At first they sat there quietly while Thorin told the other Dwarves about where he had been. Apparently he had been at a meeting with other Dwarves. It wasn't until the quest was brought up that they both decided to pay close attention.

"Far to the east, over ranges and rivers, beyond woodlands and wastelands, lies a single, solitary peak." Gandalf said while he pulled what looked like an old map from the folds of his robe. He unfolded it and laid it on the table.

The girls rose from their chairs in an effort to see the map but were blocked by Bilbo stepping forward with a candle to provide more light like Gandalf had requested. Thankfully, though, the Hobbit spoke aloud what was on the map. "'The Lonely Mountain.'"

"Aye," One of the Dwarves answered. "Oin has read the portents. And the portents say it is time."

Another Dwarf, whom the girls suspected to be Oin, went into more detail on the matter. "Ravens have been seen flying back to the mountain, as it was foretold." He then went on to quote the prophecy, which talked about a beasts reign ending.

"Beast?" Elizabeth mouthed to LoRayne, unsure of what that was supposed to be referring too. LoRayne shrugged her shoulders, confused as well as to what the beast was.

"Uh, what beast?" Bilbo asked from behind the group.

"Oh, that would be a reference to Smaug the Terrible." One of the Dwarves with a funky hat and braided hair said. "Chiefest and greatest calamity of our age."

All those around the table seemed to know who the Dwarf was talking about, they all sat silently with hard expressions on their faces. Bilbo, LoRayne, and Elizabeth, however, were still confused so the Dwarf continued to explain.

"Airborne fire-breather. Teeth like razors, claws like meat hooks. Extremely fond of precious metals."

The girls sat there trying to piece it all together when Bilbo gave the answer yet again. "Yes, I know what a dragon is."

"I'm not afraid. I'm up for it." A voice cried suddenly from the other side of the room. Looking over, the girls noticed that it was the young, polite Dwarf speaking. "I'll give him a taste of Dwarfish iron right up his jacksie!"

All but one Dwarf gave the young speaker their approval. The one who disagreed was the gray haired one that had pulled him down after he had burped loudly. The chatter continued for a few more seconds before someone started speaking again.

"The task would be difficult enough with an army behind us—But we number just thirteen." The white haired Balin pointed out, "And not thirteen of the best…nor brightest."

Talk started to form once again as the other Dwarves did not agree with the last part of Balin's statement. They questioned him and each other on the meaning before yet another Dwarf spoke. This time it was the young blonde.

"We may be few in number. But we're fighters, all of us, to the last Dwarf!" To emphasize his point, he slammed his fist against the table.

"And you forget that we have a wizard in our company!" The Dwarf with no beard added. "Gandalf will have killed hundreds of dragons in his time!"

All eyes turned to the gray-cloaked man who sputtered out smoke shapes and blushed. "How many then?" One of the Dwarves asked.

The girls looked to Gandalf as well and saw that he wore a look of surprise on his face. "What?"

"Well, how many dragons have you killed?" The same Dwarf asked. "Come on. Give us a number!" He yelled when Gandalf said nothing. All the Dwarves suddenly stood up in their seats and started yelling at each other.

"This is madness." Elizabeth muttered to herself, watching as some of the Dwarves pound on the table.

"They sound like adults fighting about politics or something." LoRayne muttered back, watching the scene with amusement.

The excitement quickly ended, however, when Thorin rose from his seat and yelled something that neither girl understood. It sounded like a completely different language, which it was. Once everyone had returned to their seats and were quiet, he continued speaking.

"If we have read these signs do you not think others will have read them too?" He asked, earning a few nods. "Rumors have begun to spread. The dragon, Smaug, has not been seen for sixty years." Both girls took their eyes off the company leader and swept them around the table, taking in the serious faces of the other Dwarves who gave their leader their full attention. "Eyes look east to the mountain, assessing, wondering, weighing the risk. Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected. Do we sit back while others claim what is rightfully ours? Or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor?"

It was a powerful speech, and when it reached its end, Elizabeth and LoRayne couldn't help but throw in a couple of cheers and claps along with the Dwarves. They now saw that Thorin was not only an intimidating being, but a brave and powerful one as well. The celebration didn't last long, though, as Balin once again pointed out an important piece of information that they had missed.

"You forget: the front Gate is sealed. There is no way into the mountain."

"That, my dear Balin, is not entirely true." Gandalf countered, producing a rusted old key from thin air.

"How did he do that?" LoRayne breathed, blinking her eyes quickly in amazement.

"Magic." Elizabeth answered, a large smile on her face as she wiggled her fingers in the direction of her friend. LoRayne noticed and rolled her eyes at the silly gesture while trying to hold back a smile.

In front of them, Thorin was amazed as well but not because the Wizard had pulled a key from thin air. He was interested in the key itself, his eyes never leaving it. "How came you by this?

Gandalf explained how the key had been given to him by Thorin's father, Thrain, for safekeeping. He then offered the key to Thorin who took it gladly, turning it over in his hand.

"If there is a key, then there must be a door." The blonde Dwarf said, putting it all together for everyone. Elizabeth watched as LoRayne rolled her eyes at the obvious comment and gently nudged her.

Gandalf nodded and explained how the ruins on the side of the map told of a secret passage on the side of the mountain leading inside.

"There's another way in."

"Wow, these Dwarves are great at stating the obvious." LoRayne muttered quietly, earning a chuckle for Elizabeth who quickly tried to turn it into a cough. The topic being discussed was a serious one and laughing now seemed inappropriate. Plus she didn't feel like getting glared at by thirteen Dwarves for interrupting.

Again Gandalf started to explain things. The door the key opened was a Dwarf door, which meant that it was invisible because it was closed. The girls bowed their heads in disappointment for a moment before they heard what Gandalf had to say next. The answer to their problem could be found on the map, he just couldn't find it. He then informed the group that he did know some who could find it. The girls noticed Thorin cast Gandalf a rather unhappy look.

"The task I have in mind will require a great deal of stealth, and no small amount of courage. But, if we are careful and clever, I believe that it can be done." Gandalf concluded, casting a glance behind him at Bilbo.

The Hobbit gave the Wizard a confused look before turning to the polite Dwarf who had started speaking.

"That's why we need a burglar."

Bilbo nodded his head in agreement. "Mmhm, a good one, too." All heads turned in his direction. "An expert, I'd imagine."

"And are you?" A Dwarf with dark red hair asked, his voice laced with doubt.

"Am I what?"

"He's asking if you are an expert, smart one." LoRayne answered, rolling her eyes. Once again she was nudged by Elizabeth and given a 'stop it' look, but she didn't care. It wasn't like she's never gotten the look before.

One of the Dwarves mistook LoRayne's response for Bilbo's. "He says he's an expert!" He cheered happily while a few of the other Dwarves and the girls looked at him funny. Elizabeth was about to correct him when she saw he was using a hearing trumpet and decided against it. She wouldn't have had a chance to say much anyway because Bilbo started protesting.

"No, no, no. I'm not a burglar; I've never stolen anything in my life."

Balin let out a small sigh before speaking. "I'm afraid I have to agree with Mr. Baggins. He's hardly burglar material."

"Aye, the wild is no place for gentlefolk who can neither fight nor fend for themselves." Dwalin agreed with his brother.

The Hobbit quickly started to nod and voice his agreement, hoping that it would get him out of having to joining on the adventure. The girls looked at him in disbelief. He was being given a chance they wished they could have and he was turning it down! If it weren't for the Dwarves complaining loudly once again, they would have said something; either to Bilbo about not wasting the opportunity or offering their services to the Dwarves instead.

The arguing continued for a while before Gandalf silenced them. Rising from his seat, a dark shadow started to form and spread out around the group as he spoke in a powerful voice. The Dwarves quickly returned to their seats and stared at the Wizard in awe. When he saw that he had their attention, he started to defend Bilbo. What he said must have made sense to the Dwarf leader.

"Give him the contract." Thorin ordered.

Balin nodded before standing up and reaching across the table to hand Bilbo the contract. The Hobbit grabbed the paper and took it into the hallway where there was more light to read. The girls, being curious, followed closely behind. Once there, he started reading aloud to himself, the girls reading over his shoulder. It mentioned that he was entitled to a share in the treasure -if there was any- as well as what Bilbo's job as burglar would entail. They were all shocked, however, when they got to the part about what injuries that could happen to them while on this journey.

"Present company shall not be liable for injuries including, but not limited to: lacerations, eviscerations… incineration?" He looked up with a slight look of disbelief and fright on his face.

"Aye." The Dwarf with the funky hat said as he leaned forward to look through the doorway. "They'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye."

"Wonderful." Elizabeth muttered to herself while letting out a sigh.

Bilbo turned around and looked at the girls before turning back to face the Dwarves. He started breathing heavy and fanning himself with his hands. The girls stood there, watching him warily. The Dwarf that had spoke before started speaking again.

"Think furnace, with wings."

This did nothing to reassure Bilbo. He started pacing the floor slowly while muttering to himself about needing some air. The Dwarves continued to watch, amusement on some of their faces. Although it was clear Bilbo was becoming upset with what he was hearing, the funky hated Dwarf continued speaking his 'reassurement'.

"Flash of light. Searing pain. And then, poof, you're nothing more than a pile of ash."

"Mr. Bilbo, are you alright?" LoRayne asked, taking a hesitant step towards the Hobbit.

Bilbo turned to her and gave a faint nod before shaking his head. "Nope." He said before falling to the floor, having fainted.

The girls watched him go down, shocked by the suddenness of it all, before rushing to his side. Elizabeth placed his head in her lap while LoRayne grabbed one of his hands and started fanning his face.

"That was nicely handled." The blonde said sarcastically, speaking loud to be heard over the laughter of the Dwarves.

"Yes, very helpful Bofur." Gandalf added, giving the Dwarf and un-amused look.

Mr. Funky hat, or rather Bofur, just shrugged his shoulders sheepishly before returning to his seat.

_Authors Note:: I originally had it so that this was two separate posts, but then one of them was really short and I felt bad so I combined them. So yay long update! I would just like to say thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story so far. You are all so sweet! I would so give you cookies or hugs if I could! And thank you to those would have favorited or followed this story, I love you guys too!_


	10. Meeting the Brothers

**Meeting the brothers**

Bilbo fainting pretty much ended the little meeting around the table. The Dwarves all got up and started to go off either in small groups or alone to check out the house or talk with one another. Bilbo soon woke up and was led to the sitting room with Gandalf. With nothing better to do, the two girls sat together against the wall to talk. First they talked about the quest and how they wished they could go along. Then the subject changed to how strange it would be to go along with a bunch of men and how they would probably be treated differently because they were women. This then, somehow, led to their current discussion.

"Do you think they just sit up early in the morning and braid each others hair and beards?"

"Probably." LoRayne answered once she had finished laughing. "Whose beard is the best do you think?"

Elizabeth chuckled while looking around her. Down the hall to her left the cute dark haired Dwarf stood with the cute blonde Dwarf, both with mugs of ale in their hands. The blonde whispered something in the others ear before nodding in her direction. They locked eyes for a brief moment before Elizabeth turned away in an attempt to hide her blush. This act did not go unnoticed by LoRayne, however, who sat that with a knowing look on her face.

"That one." The brunette said quickly, pointing to the large Dwarf with the red rope beard that they had seen eating the wheel of cheese. If Elizabeth could remember right, his name was Bombur. He had a plate full of food and was offering it to another Dwarf, one with unruly black hair.

LoRayne looked to her right, saw that Dwarf her friend was talking about, and started laughing. "Me too. It's epic!" The two shared in another round of laughter.

"So what do you think of Mr. Tall-dark-and-beardless over there? You like him don't you." LoRayne asked once the laughter had died down, nodding her head in to the left.

Elizabeth sat still, her eyes down at her hands. "I don't know what you are talking about." She tried to keep her voice as even as possible.

LoRayne laughed before bumping shoulders with her best friend. "Oh come on. You already said he was cute. You can tell me if you like him. He's all yours."

"It's kind of hard to say if you like someone if you've never talked to them before. Sure he's cute, but he might be some weirdo creep."

Everything was quiet for a moment before Elizabeth felt LoRayne get up. "What are you doing" She asked, confused as to why her friend was standing in front of her with a funny smile on her face.

"Giving you a chance to find out if he is a creep or not." Was all LoRayne said before walking away.

Confusion clouded Elizabeth's face as she watched her friend leave. It wasn't until she felt a new presence and turned around that she understand what the blonde had meant.

"Evening." The dark haired Dwarf said, a casual smile on his face. "Mind if I join you?"

"Sure." She said quietly before shaking her head and repeating herself a little louder. "Sure."

The Dwarf's smile widened before he joined her on the floor. They sat in silence for a moment before she realized that she didn't know his name and he didn't know hers so she decided to introduce herself. "I'm Elizabeth."

"Kili. Do you really remember nothing?"

Elizabeth was shocked by the question. "Umm… Well, I remember some but not a lot."

Kili nodded before asking another question. "And you're a human?"

"Well, yeah? Why do you ask?"

"Well, you're rather short for a human," Kili commented with a shrug of his shoulders. "Almost thought you were a beardless Dwarf-women. "

Elizabeth had never heard of such a thing and couldn't help but laugh. At first she felt bad for laughing because she thought that she had offended him. But that feeling soon left when Kili started laughing as well.

"You know your friend and my brother and watching, right?" Kili pointed out once they had stopped laughing.

Elizabeth followed his gaze and saw that LoRayne and the blonde Dwarf were indeed watching them. Smirking, she lifted her left hand and started waving at the on lookers; Kili following her example. The two blondes across the way waved back before going back to whatever they were talking about. Elizabeth turned back to Kili and was about to say something when she heard the low sound of people humming.

"What's that?"

Kili looked at her with an excited look on his face before he jumped to his feet. "You're going to want to hear this." Was all he said before he grabbed her hands, pulled her up, and led her into the sitting room.

* * *

When LoRayne had left to give Elizabeth time alone with the dark haired Dwarf, she hadn't gone far. She was curious to see what happened so she leaned against a wall down the hall far enough that she couldn't hear what was being said but close enough to where she could still see.

"You know, some would find it rude to spy on others." A voice whispered loudly in her ear, causing her to jump. Turning around she saw that it was the blonde Dwarf that had arrived with the dark haired Dwarf.

"Who said I was spying?" She asked innocently.

"Me. But don't worry, I'm doing the same to my brother." He answered with a shrug of his shoulder.

This surprised LoRayne "Your brother?" She didn't know that they were siblings.

"Yes. Kili is my little baby brother." He said, not caring that he was probably embarrassing the young Dwarf.

LoRayne chuckled. "And who are you?" Might as well get the name of the Dwarf she was talking to.

"Fili."

"LoRayne."

A silence fell over the two as they turned their attention back to Elizabeth and Kili who were laughing at something. They then turned their heads to the side and started waving at the two blondes.

"It appears as though we have been found out?" Fili teased before waving back at the two brunettes.

"It appears so. We are terrible spies." LoRayne agreed before she started to wave as well.

The two continued waving for a few seconds more before turning away from the brunettes and back to one another. Fili opened his mouth and was about to say something, when the humming reached their ears.

"They're going to sing the song." He said, answering LoRayne's unasked question. He then grabbed one of her hands and started to pull her into the sitting room.

The humming continued for a few more seconds once four had entered the sitting room before Thorin, who was standing with his pipe by the fireplace, started to sing. His voice was low, beautiful, and full of passion.

_Far over the Misty Mountains cold,_

_To dungeons deep and caverns old,_

The others let out puffs of smoke from their pipes, adding atmosphere to the room. Balin and Bofur, the dwarf with the funky hat, started to sing as well.

_We must away, ere break of day,_

_To find our long forgotten gold,_

_The pines were roaring on the height,_

_The winds were moaning in the night,_

_The was fire red, it flaming spread;_

_The trees like torches blazed with light,_

A few others had joined in for the last few lines of the song while the rest all hummed underneath them. When the words had ended, the humming continued for a few seconds before it was cut off all at once, it was amazing. The two girls stood there in wonder. Elizabeth was so moved that she had to work very hard to keep herself from clapping.

Everything was close to silent for a long time then as the Dwarves were left alone to their thoughts. Fili and Kili pulled LoRayne and Elizabeth into a corner, and in hushed voices, asked the girls what they had thought of the song. The girls both agreed that it was amazing but admitted that they weren't entirely sure what it was about. The boys started to explain the meaning behind it, only to be interrupted quickly by Thorin telling everyone that they should get some sleep. Not wanting to get in trouble with the leader, the girls bid the brothers goodnight before leaving the sitting room and heading to the room Bilbo had set aside for them.

"Well, he is definitely not a creeper." Elizabeth announced as they got ready for bed.

"His brother's not too bad either." LoRayne said as well, pulling back the covers of the bed before climbing under them.

Elizabeth got down and made herself comfortable on the floor, pulling the blanket up to her chin. "Oooh really?" She asked smiling suggestively even though the blonde couldn't see it.

However, she could hear it in her friend's tone. "I know what you are thinking, and the answer is no. I don't like-like him."

"Aww, why not? He's kinda cute too."

"I guess, but his mustache is pretty dang weird." LoRayne explained.

Elizabeth lay there and thought about it for a moment before nodding her head. "I guess you're right. It is a little weird." She had never seen anyone with facial hair like that. "But it's not as strange as some of the Dwarves beards." She pointed out.

This time it was LoRayne that sat there silently in thought before answering. "I guess you're right. But still."

"Just think about it."

The room fell quiet as both girls became lost in their thoughts. They had learned so much in one night and now they had to process it all. They now knew that the quest was all about taking Erebor back from a fierce dragon called Smaug and reclaiming their lost homes and gold. Even though they knew that it was going to be dangerous, they found themselves wishing they could go as well. They wanted a chance to do something exciting and possible make new memories to replace the once that they had forgotten. The only problem was convincing Thorin to let them come along.

They were both thinking of ways to persuade the Dwarf into letting them come along when there was a faint knock at the door. Because they were both comfy on their beds and didn't want to get up, they called for whoever was on the other side of the door to enter. The visitor obeyed and the door swung open to reveal Gandalf on the other side.

"Good evening. I was hoping to have a word with the two of you before you go to sleep, if I may." The Wizard informed, standing in the doorway.

"Of course." LoRayne answered, sitting up slightly in bed. "Please come in."

The old man did as asked, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. Walking over to a chair in the corner, he rested his staff against the wall before taking a seat. Once he was settled, he started to speak.

"I know that it is late, but I think this is a rather important matter. I assume I am right in saying that the two of you wish to joined us on our journey?" Both girls nodded their heads excitedly. "Right. Like Mr. Baggins, I see that there is more to the two of you then appearance. I am sure there is much the both of you have to offer. Which is why I have taken it upon myself to speak to Thorin on your behalf."

Both girls' faces lit up at the thought of Gandalf talking to Thorin. Instantly, they both started asking questions. Elizabeth started the questioning first with, "What did he say?" which was followed by LoRayne's similar question of "Did he say we could come along?". They asked a few other questions so quickly that the Wizard wasn't given a chance to answer. When he didn't answer, the girls took it as a bad sign.

"He said no didn't he? Of course he would say no." LoRayne moaned, falling back into her pillows with her hands over her face.

"Now what are we going to do. We have nowhere to go." Elizabeth said sadly, bring her legs to her chest and resting her head on her knees.

"I say girls, there is no need to get upset." Gandalf said with a slight chuckle, hoping to lighten the mood. "Thorin has yet to give an answer on whether or not you will be allowed to join the quest. So have faith for there is still a chance."

Both girls lifted their heads to the Wizard who had been so kind to them this past day, slight smiles on their faces. Not only had he helped them when he had found them in the road, but now he was helping them again by trying to get them to come along on the quest. And he did all this without really knowing them.

"Okay." They both said in unison, knowing the their new friend was right. There was still a chance for them yet.

"Now enough talk. It is late and I am sure you are both very tired. I shall leave you to get some rest now." Gandalf said, rising from the chair and walking towards the door.

"Good night, Gandalf." Both girls called tiredly in unison before snuggling under their covers.

The Wizard stood in the open doorway and gave one last look at LoRayne and Elizabeth. Already he could hear their breathing slow as the both drifted off to sleep. "Good night, my dears." He said quietly. With a small smile on his face, he quietly closed the door and left the room in darkness.

_Authors Note:: So I have a question for you guys. Would you rather have longer updates, like, once a week? Or would you rather have slightly shorter updates every other day or so? Also, please go back to the previous update and re-read it because I have added to it. Thanks guys!_


	11. A decision is made

**A decision is made**

Morning came sooner than expected. After what felt like only a couple minutes of sleep, the girl's dreams were interrupted by someone knocking on the door. Because she was on the floor and closer to the door, Elizabeth pushed herself up and went to answer it. On her way to the door, she glanced out the window and saw that it was just starting to get light out. She was not a morning person so this just made her already bad mood worse.

"This better be important, because if not I swear I'm gunna—" Her threat died in her throat when she opened the door and saw who was on the other side.

"Morning!" Kili greeted cheerfully, a large smile on his face.

"Morning." Elizabeth said back, offering a small smile as well. Her anger for being woken up early quickly fading.

"I've been sent to inform you and Lady LoRayne that Uncle is going to call a meeting in the next five minutes. I suspect it is to decide on whether or not you will be accompanying us on our quest."

"Oh. Um, thank you. We'll be there shortly." She said quietly, her smile faltering.

Kili noticed her sudden change in mood. Reaching out, he rested a hand on her shoulder and locked eyes with her; brown meeting hazel. "Don't worry. I'm sure Uncle will allow you and your friend to join us." He assured.

Elizabeth nodded. "I hope so."

Kili nodded in return before removing his hand from her shoulder and walked away. Elizabeth closed the door before walking over to where LoRayne still lay sleeping. She stood there for a moment before gently shaking the blonde's' shoulder. LoRayne groaned a bit but soon pushed herself up.

"Wha?" She asked, eyes half closed with sleep.

"Thorin is going to tell us if we can come along on the quest or not so get up."

It took a second for the words to fight through the sleep, but LoRayne was soon up and ready to go. They stood there for a bit, taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm their nerves. They did this for as long as they felt they could before exiting the room. Moments later, they walked into the sitting room and noticed that all the Dwarves and Gandalf were awake and waiting. All eyes quickly turned to them and they walked over to stand beside Gandalf.

"Good morning!" The Wizard said happily as he smiled down at them.

Elizabeth and LoRayne returned the greeting, but it softer voices. They were both nervous about the outcome of this meeting. Everything was quiet for a moment until Thorin rose from his seat turned toward them.

"I have not yet made a decision as to whether or not you two shall be allowed to join my company. Gandalf has taken it upon himself to plead your case, but I still fail to see as to what use you would be to me. Neither of you can fight nor can you do anything else of use. So tell me, why should I be burdened with you?"

The girls were quiet for the Company leader had made a good point. Why should he bring them along? They didn't know the land, they couldn't protect themselves in a fight, or maybe they could have at one point but they had lost those abilities along with most of their memories. They would probably be more trouble than they were worth. But that didn't mean they were just going to give up.

"Sir, I know that you have many reasons against bringing us and we will accept it if you chose to leave us behind. But allow us to plead our own case first. It's only fair." LoRayne said. Although he glared at her she kept eye contact with him, knowing that she couldn't afford to be seen as weaker than she already was.

Thorin stood quietly for a moment while he thought over what the blonde human had said. He seemed to see reason in her words because he soon nodded. "Speak your piece." He looked to the blonde, but it was the brunette that answered this time.

"Sir, it may be true that we do not know how to fight but we can learn. We are also small and rather fast. If Bilbo chooses against joining you, then you will once again be in need of a burglar. Why not one of us?"

A few of the Dwarves nodded their heads muttered their agreement while others just sat there saying nothing.

"And if the Hobbit does choose to join us?" Thorin asked.

"Then we can do other things. Gather wood, cook, or anything else. Give us the chance to prove ourselves to you. We might surprise you."

The room became quiet at these words. Thorin looked at both girls in turn before turning around to talk to Balin. The white bearded Dwarf was wise and had already proved to be the voice of reason when it came to things such as this. The two spoke for what felt like hours, but was really minutes, when Thorin finally turned back to look at the girls, his face serious.

"You shall be allowed to join us." Smiles appeared on the girl's faces, "But know this. I will not be responsible for your safety. If you are injured or killed, it is no one's fault but your own. If you can accept this then sign the contract and pack. We leave within the hour." He then turned to the Dwarves in his company. "Prepare to leave, check on the ponies. And someone get breakfast started."

Everyone quickly rose from their seats and started moving about the room, packing their things. Someone started a fire in the fireplace while Balin came over to the girls with the contract and a pen.

"Welcome aboard, lassies." He said once they had both signed, a small smile on his face. "Now you better go pack."

The girls nodded before turning and making their way back to the room Bilbo had lent them. The first few seconds were spent jumping up and down excitedly before realization set in. What did they have to pack? They had nothing but the clothes they had changed from. No bags, no spare clothes, no coats, nothing.

"Do you think Mr. Bilbo would mind if we borrowed some stuff?" LoRayne asked hesitantly.

"I think if we take as little as possible, it will be alright." Elizabeth offered.

Neither girl liked the idea of taking from the Hobbit who had been so nice to them, but it wasn't like they could ask the Dwarves for things. Thorin might decide that they really weren't cut out for the journey and change his mind about letting them come along. But then there was the fact that neither of them had ever been on an adventure, at least, not that they could remember, so they weren't entirely sure as to what they would need.

In the end they thought of the things they needed in everyday life and started there. An extra shirt each as well as a pair of light brown jackets they had found in the back of the clothes cupboard, two very dusty backpacks found at the bottom of a trunk as well as an old hairbrush they would share. They then went to the bathroom were they took a bar of soap and washcloth before returning to the room. The last thing they packed was the blankets they had slept with the night before.

"Ready?" Elizabeth asked as she tightened the strap of her backpack.

LoRayne finished buttoning her coat before nodding. "I hope so."

The two both let out a deep breath before walking out of the room to join their fellow journeyers in the sitting room.

Breakfast was a much calmer meal then supper. Today there was no jokes made or laughter. Instead it was only eating and quiet conversation. When it was finished, everyone stacked their plates in the kitchen before heading back to the sitting room, collecting their things, and exiting the Hobbit-Hole.

Once they were outside, the silent spell that had fallen over the Dwarves was broken. There was laughter and stomping as the troop made their way through Hobbiton. At times they were so loud that they received nasty looks from some of the early-riser Hobbits. LoRayne and Elizabeth walked in the back of the pack with Fili and Kili.

"Well lassies, I think you might have just gotten the role as our new burglars." A short, red headed Dwarf called from the front. "It appears that the Hobbit will not be joining us."

"Now, now Master Gloin." Gandalf chastised, "Have faith in Bilbo."

This led to all the other Dwarves shouting out their own opinions on whether or not Bilbo would show up or not. It went on for a few minutes until they started taking bets. A majority of the Dwarves bet that Bilbo wouldn't show up, but there was a few like Gandalf who had complete faith in the Hobbit. Elizabeth and LoRayne would have participated in the bet, being on the side that said Bilbo would show up, but neither had any money on them so they just listened quietly while everyone else placed bets. By the time it was all figured out, they had arrived to the place where the ponies had been tied up.

"So which of you is going to be riding with me?" Fili asked as he started walking towards his shaggy gray pony.

"And who will be riding with me?" Kili asked as well, following his brother.

The two girls stood there for a moment looking at each other before LoRayne stepped forward. "I'll ride with you, Fili, if that's alright."

"I guess that means you are will me." Kili said cheerfully to Elizabeth before turning to ready his brown pony, Fili doing the same thing.

Elizabeth and LoRayne stood off to the side so as not to get in their way, watching while the brothers and other Dwarves worked.

"You're welcome." LoRayne said smugly after a short silence.

Elizabeth knew what she was talking about but decided not to say anything. Instead she rolled her eyes playfully and crossed her arms over her chest. LoRayne noticed the eye roll as well as the fact that her friend had a slight smile on her face and chuckled slightly.

Soon all the ponies were ready and the company started to mount them. The girls had a little trouble getting up but Fili and Kili quickly helped by grabbing their arms and pulling them up, chuckling slightly while they did so. The girls responded by rolling their eyes before wrapping their arms around either Fili's or Kili's waist. Once Gandalf had taken attendance, counting everyone's name off to himself, the company started on their journey.

The started off slow, making it possible for Bilbo to catch up to them if he happened to change his mind. This proved to be a smart choice because they hadn't even made it two miles before Bilbo came running after them, waving the contract over his head. The company stopped and watched as the Hobbit walked over to Balin and handed over the now signed contract. The white haired Dwarf examined it for a moment before turning back to him with a smile.

"Welcome, Master Baggins, to the company of Thorin Oakenshield."

Everyone cheered for a moment before Thorin started speaking, an unfazed expression on his face. "Give him a pony."

A few of the Dwarves cheered once more as they all started off again. Bilbo remained where he stood and started complaining, saying that he was more than happy to walk alongside them. But that didn't happen. Fili and Kili exchanged smirks before easing their ponies on either side of Bilbo, grabbing him under his arms, and lifting him up and placing him on the back of the spare pony.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad, Mr. Bilbo." Elizabeth teased as the Hobbit complained some more while gathering the reins in his hands.

Bilbo shot her a nasty look. "That's easy for you to say, you are not the one in control of your pony!

The brunette gave a soft chuckle as Bilbo's pony tossed it head, much to the Hobbits dismay, before it quickened its pace so that it passed Oin and was now walking along side Gandalf's horse.

"Come on, Nori, pay up!" Oin called, reminding everyone of the bets that had been placed. Now that Bilbo had joined them, a few of the Dwarves were going to be a few gold coins richer.

Nori did as he was asked and tossed a jiggling bag of gold behind him to the hard of hearing Dwarf. Oin caught the bag and let out a delighted laugh. More bags were passed out to some of the other Dwarfs who chuckled excitedly as well. Fili was also thrown a bag of money.

"I shall give you your share when we camp for the night, brother." He promised before stowing the bag in one of the pockets of his coat. The two brothers had smartly pooled together some of their money and placed bets on both sides so that no matter the outcome, they reaped some of the reward.

"No, no, wait! Stop! We have to turn around." Bilbo shouted suddenly, causing the entire company, not so happily, to stop. "I've gotten my handkerchief."

The Dwarves grumbled and groan, some even laughed because they thought he was joking, at the unnecessary reason to stop. Towards the front, Bofur tore off a bit of his coat and tossed it to the Hobbit to use. Bilbo caught it and examined it. The girls guessed that he wasn't too happy with it and was possible giving it a disgusted look because he daintily held onto it with only his fingertips. While a few of the Dwarves laughed at the Hobbit's behavior, Thorin called from them all to move one. And the company did so, quickening their pace now that Bilbo was with them.

The next couple of hours were filled with the Dwarves singing and talking with one another. LoRayne and Elizabeth sat quietly behind Fili and Kili, who were having their own conversation, listening while their eyes took in the sights they were passing. The tree flanked road soon opened up into a beautiful green field while long bright green grass under a clear blue sky. It was all so beautiful that it was almost hard to believe that it was all real.

They stopped at around noon by a small stream for lunch. It was a quick affair consisting of the leftover food from Bilbo's house. The Hobbit wasn't entirely happy to hear that the Dwarves had brought along his food, but he said nothing about it. He just sat grumpily beside Gandalf and ate. As soon as everyone had finished their share of food, things were packed up once again before they continued on their way.

_Authors Note:: Thank you everyone who answered my previous question in the last update. I've decided that the updates will come either once or twice a week. And the lengths of them will all depend on how busy I am. And thank you to everyone who has either read, reviewed, alerted, or favorited this story. You are all awesome!_


	12. Getting to know you

**Getting to know you**

For this leg of the journey the girls were not able to take in the scenery because Fili and Kili, being the curious Dwarves they were, started to ask questions.

"So my brother told me that you really remember nothing about yourselves, is that true?" Fili asked, turning his head so he could somewhat see LoRayne behind him and Elizabeth behind Kili.

LoRayne looked at Elizabeth, who rolled her eyes, before answering as nicely as she could. "There are some things that we remember but more that we don't." It was a bit annoying having everyone asked the same thing.

"Well what are some of the things you remember?" Kili asked this time.

"Well our names, for one." Elizabeth said.

"And other minor details like our favorite colors and ages and such." LoRayne added.

The brother turned to each other before they both started to fire off questions. What their favorite colors were, how old they were, if they were related, and a few others before the girls laugher cut them off.

"Slow down, one question at a time." LoRayne said, once she had finished laughing. "And it's only fair that we be allowed to ask questions as well."

"Fair enough." Fili agreed, nodding his head before asking his first question. "Now we heard that Gandalf found the two of you in the middle of a road with little memory of what happened. Is there anything you remember before waking up?"

The girls turned to one another once more, wondering who should speak first. Elizabeth nodded her head a few seconds later, telling LoRayne silently to speak first. The blonde girl nodded her head in return, her way of saying that she understood.

A look of concentration clouded her face as she tried to work through the fog that were her memories. "I remember being cold… and running. I think we were running either after something or from something… I don't know which though."

"I remember the cold too." Elizabeth said, pausing to make sure LoRayne was finished speaking. "I don't remember running though…just yelling…"

There was a silence as the girls became lost in their thoughts. Why would they be running? Had they been in trouble? The silence went on for a while before Elizabeth shook her head and asked the next question. "So what are your favorite colors?" She figured it would be easier to start off with a simple question.

"I very much enjoy the color orange. Not overly bright, but a nice warm orange." Fili said with very little thought.

"I'm rather fond of blue." Kili answered after his brother. "What about yours?"

"Mines blue too!" Elizabeth said with a smile. "But green and purple are very nice too."

"That is so weird, my favorite colors blue too!" LoRayne said causing Elizabeth to shake her head. The brunette had known that little fact. "That just means blues a better color."

Fili gave an unseen eye roll, knowing the comment was directed at him being the only one with a preferred color other than blue, before speaking. "Why is it that you have such strange names?"

"Beg pardon?"

"Well, LoRayne and Elizabeth are not names that you come across often. In fact, they are rather silly." Kili explained to their confused female companions.

Both girls let out matching scoffs. "You know, Fili and Kili are rather silly names as well but you don't see us poking fun." LoRayne pointed out, slightly offended that they were calling her name silly.

"Our names are not silly!" The brothers exclaimed together, turning in their saddles to look angrily at the girls sitting behind them.

LoRayne and Elizabeth both crossed their arms over their chest and glared back. It was a rather stupid topic to fight over, calling names silly, but the girls were offended because their names were some of the few things they still had of themselves and they did not like it being mocked. Fili and Kili were upset because they were Dwarves and were quick to take offence to things.

"Not so fun having your name called silly is it?" Elizabeth asked after a short silence spent in duel stare downs. Looking ahead she saw that they had fallen slightly behind during the staring/glaring contest, Kili having stopped his horse when he had turned around. "You might want to catch up." She said, pointing a finger towards the leaving group.

Kili turned around, as did Fili, and noticed that they had indeed fallen behind. Turning around, the Dwarves pulled on their rains and started the ponies into a trot to catch up. Ten minutes passed before anyone said anything, both parties still slightly angry over what had been said, silly and stupid though the offences were.

"You seem a lot younger then a lot of the others." LoRayne observed once she had calmed down enough to speak to the Durin brothers. "How old are you?"

"Kili, Ori, and myself are the youngest of the company, yes." Fili said after a short pause. "Ori is slightly older then my 82 years, but I beat Kili's 77."

"What? You guys are considered young at 82 and 77?" LoRayne asked, her eyes wide in disbelief. Neither of them looked that old! They looked like they were in their early twenties at least!

"Well, yes." Kili answered, slightly confused. He was unable to see what was so strange with the statement. He was forgetting that neither Elizabeth nor LoRayne knew how long dwarves live.

LoRayne let out a small chuckle. "How is that possible? I'm only 17 and Elizabeth is 18. That's young. Being 77 and 82 is, like, really old."

Now it was the Dwarf's turn to laugh. "By human years, we may seem old. But Dwarves can live to be well over 200." Fili pointed out. Unlike his brother, he understood that the girls knew nothing about Dwarfs, or if they did know, they didn't remember because of their accident.

"So then by Dwarf years, the two of you are very young." Elizabeth repeated out loud to make sure she understood. Fili nodded in reply. "But if you are so young, then how come you are on this quest? Couldn't it become too dangerous for you?"

Ahead of her, Kili threw back his head in laughter. "Obviously we have been allowed to come along because we are both expert fighters." He boasted, a large smile appearing on his face.

"I'm sure your Uncle being the leader of the company has nothing to do with it." LoRayne muttered under her breath earning a small chuckle from Elizabeth who had still heard the comment.

"Okay, we were allowed to come because of Thorin. But also because we are fierce warriors."

"Whatever you say." Elizabeth said quietly in a disbelieving tone, shaking her head behind the dark haired Dwarfs back.

More questions and answers were exchanged to keep the group occupied. They talked about their hobbies where LoRayne admitted to drawing in her spare time and Elizabeth told them that she sang. The boys tried to get her to sing something, but she politely declined. She wasn't a big fan of singing in front of people that weren't her family or close friends. Occasionally, one of the other Dwarves would ask one or both of the girls a question and they would answer as best as they could. This went on for a few hours until the sky started to turn dark.

_Authors Note:: Have I ever told you guys that I love your reviews. I literally smile every time I read them. I do the same when I see that someone has favorited or alerted this story. All of you are simply amazing and I love you all. So this chapter was mainly filler. What did you guys think? If I got a fact wrong please tell me! Thank you!_


	13. Orcs in the night

**Orcs in the night**

When it came time for them to stop and make camp near the edge of a cliff for the night, the girls were more then ready. Fili and Kili got down from their ponies first before offering Elizabeth and LoRayne a hand.

"My butt!" LoRayne grumbled as soon as her feet had touched the ground. Her backside hurt from sitting on the back of the pony for so long and she had lost most of the feeling in her legs from them falling asleep.

"I hear ya." Elizabeth agreed. She was feeling the same way. The two stood there for a moment before Elizabeth grasped her friend's arm and started pulling her towards the woods.

"I say, where are you two ladies off to?" Gandalf asked as they hurried past them.

"I'm not su-" LoRayne started only to be interrupted by Elizabeth. "Bathroom! We'll be right back!"

The brunette girl had been holding it in for a few hours now, not daring to ask if they could stop just so she could go to the bathroom. But now that they were camping for the night, she couldn't hold it any longer and had to do her business. She dragged LoRayne along to act as look out and prevent any of the Dwarves from happening upon her in an embarrassing situation.

When they returned, they saw that the Dwarves had succeeded in setting up camp and starting a fire. As soon as they walked into camp, they were instantly yelled at by Thorin to help Bombur with supper. LoRayne was about to complain but Elizabeth stopped her by saying they were on it before dragging her friend by the arm once more.

"We agreed to do this, remember." The brunette reminded quietly as they made their way towards the large Dwarf standing by the fire. "Now that Bilbo's here, we have to help around camp like we said we would."

LoRayne nodded her head, indeed remembering that they said they would do meager tasks to go along on the quest, but rolled her eyes to show that she didn't like it.

When they reached the fire, they were instructed to start chopping tomatoes and onions for a stew while Bombur prepared the meat in the form of two rabbits they must have caught while the girls were in the forest going to the bathroom. Judging from the arrows still protruding from the small creatures heads, the girls could only assume that Kili had shot them. They did as they were told quietly, dumping the dices into a small pot when they were finished. They then repeated the action with a few potatoes and carrots.

Once that was done, they were told to go and gather some more wood for the fire. LoRayne was about to protest once again and suggest that one of the other Dwarves who were just sitting around go and do it when Elizabeth stopped her once again. The brunette gave her friend a hard look before dragging her off once more into the woods.

When they returned from their third trip to the woods with their arms both full of wood, dinner was almost done. After dumping their load of wood in a pile by the rocks, they went off in search of bowls for everyone. It took some times seeing as they had to dig through quiet a bit of stuff, but they soon found them and brought them over to Bombur who started filling them with the now finished stew and handing them off to the company members.

After dinner, the company spread out and started to go to sleep until the only ones left up were Gandalf, Balin, Fili and Kili (who had first watch), and LoRayne and Elizabeth. The two girls were having trouble sleeping—be it because of the cold or Bombur's snoring they weren't sure—so they sat together by Fili, Kili, and the fire. LoRayne lay on her stomach with her blanket over her back and legs drawing pictures in the sand with her finger while Elizabeth sat up with her blanket around her shoulders and her bear feet close to the fire.

They all sat there quietly for about an hour before Fili and Kili brought out their pipes and tobacco. They were just starting to fix their pipes when Bilbo got up from the ground and walked over to his pony after giving a sleeping Bombur a rather annoyed look.

"And to think," Elizabeth muttered to LoRayne, nodding her head towards the Hobbit, "Bilbo had hated the idea of riding a pony just a few hours ago."

The blonde gave a soft chuckle. "I know. And now he's-" But she was cut off quickly by a terrible scream like sound piercing the night.

"What was that?" Bilbo asked cautiously, turning to Fili and Kili.

"Orcs." Kili said in a quiet voice.

"Orcs?" LoRayne asked, pushing herself up so she was now sitting.

Fili, who was leaning back against the rocks, turned his gaze towards the girls and Hobbit who had moved to stand close beside them. "Throat-cutters." He explained, his tone almost casual. "There'll be dozens of them out there. The lowlands are crawling with them."

"They strike in the wee small hours, when everyone's asleep." Kili continued in the same easy tone. "Quick and quiet; no screams, just lots of blood."

LoRayne and Elizabeth silently moved closer to one another for comfort while Bilbo started to nervously look around them, as though he expected to find an Orc waiting in the bushes. Fili and Kili share amused glances before they started to chuckle quietly. The girls and Hobbit quickly turned to them, their expressions ranging from disbelief, hurt, and anger.

"You find that amusing do you? You think a night raid by orcs is a joke?" Thorin growled, cutting his nephew's laughter short by shooting them both a deadly look. No one had noticed that their leader had been jerked awake from his slumber with the first shriek of the night.

The brothers slumped in their seats.

"We didn't mean anything by it." Kili said, looking like a sad puppy. Elizabeth felt bad for him and would have comforted him if he hadn't just purposely tried to scare LoRayne, Bilbo, and herself.

"You know nothing of this world." Quickly, Thorin got up from his place by the rocks and walked over to the cliff edge.

While he did that, Balin walked over to the small group around the fire and spoke to Fili and Kili. "Don't worry lads. Thorin's got more cause then most to hate Orcs."

The white haired Dwarf started telling them the tale of the Battle of Azanulbizar. The girls listened intently as he explained how the Dwarves fought hard against the Orcs in order to take back the ancient Dwarf kingdom called Moria. They learned that the Dwarves were greatly out numbered and were losing the fight, no matter how hard they fought. They also learned that Thorin lost both his father and grandfather in the battle. Thror was beheaded by a large pale Orc by the name of Azog and Thrain's fate was unknown.

LoRayne and Elizabeth turned to where Thorin was standing near the cliff with his back to them. They were starting to understand now why he was the way he was. He had seen and lived through so much pain and suffering. But those hardships had also been responsible for making him the strong leader that he was.

Balin continued by saying all seemed lost until Thorin took over. He charged the pale Orc alone and lost his sword and shield in the process. All seemed lost until it was explained that Thorin fought back against the large Orc with nothing but an oaken branch as a shield. After slicing off the arm of Azog, Thorin led the Dwarf army to victory.

"—And I thought to myself then, there was one whom I could follow. There was one I could call King." Baling finished

By this time the entire company was awake and facing Thorin. When the Dwarf King turned around, he seemed slightly surprised to see them all standing there. But he quickly wiped the surprise from his face as he wordlessly walked around them, heading for his place by the rocks.

"And the pale Orc?" Bilbo asked, breaking the silence. He turned from Thorin to Balin, "What happened to him?"

He had directed the question toward the white haired Dwarf, for he had been the one explain things to the group, but it was Thorin who answered.

"He slunk back into the hole whence he came. That filth died of his wounds long ago."

LoRayne and Elizabeth watched as Balin and Gandalf exchanged unsure looks from across the camp. Both girls immediately tried to put the exchange from their minds, wanting desperately to believe that the horrible pale Orc was indeed dead.

Things quieted down once again after that. Bilbo moved his bed closer to the fire before lying down. The girls watched as he lay there with his eyes open for a long time. They had just started to wonder if he was wishing he had never come along when he finally closed his eyes and fell asleep.

"Wait," Elizabeth said quietly once the others had all settled back down and gone to sleep as well. "If Thorin is King… Then does that make the two of you—"

"Princes? Yes." Fili answered with a satisfied smirk on his face.

"Feel free to bow down and worship us at any time." Kili added jokingly with a matching smirk.

LoRayne gave an over exaggerated eye roll before lying down on the ground. "We'll be sure to get right on that."

Elizabeth lay down of the ground as well while the two brother shared in a laugh before going back to their pipes. It was to the sound of them talking quietly with one another that the girls fell asleep to.

_Authors Note:: So, I really like this update. I thought I would post it for you guys because I'm about to get really busy with softball, games and such, and updates might come randomly now. Please continue to review with your thoughts, they honestly make my day. If you have favorited or alerted this story, thank you. You guys are awesome as well!_


	14. Early morning

**Early morning**

The next day, the girls were woken up by the sound of pots banging and others moving around. Groaning, they both opened their eyes and looked around. The Dwarves, Bilbo, and Gandalf were all up and moving. Bofur and his brother Bombur were by the fire starting breakfast while the others were breaking down the camp and loading the ponies.

"Oh look, brother, they are already awake!" Fili said loudly as he came to stand in front of the girls.

Kili came up and stood next to his brother, a smile on his face. "It appears they are, brother. That saves us from having to wake them ourselves."

The girls groaned again before closing their eyes and pulling their blankets closer around them.

"The sun isn't even up, so why the heck are all of you?" Elizabeth grumbled. She was right. The sky was starting to lighten but the sun could not be seen yet.

"Yes." LoRayne agreed, "You should be sleeping instead of making so much noise."

The brothers laughed before they crouched down by the girl's heads.

"Uncle says we have a lot of land to cross so we must leave early." Kili said.

"Yes. So please get up. Thorin can get pretty mad when things don't go his way." Fili added.

When neither girl moved, the brothers shared devilish grins before continuing.

"Brother, what was it Uncle said we should do if the two girls refused to get up?" Fili asked even louder.

"I believe he told us to get the water bucket. I think Bombur had it last. Said he slept in something that smelt funny and had to clean it up. I don't think he's dumped the water yet. I'll get fetch the bucket from him, shall I." Kili quickly stood up and started to slowly walk towards Bombur, his eyes never leaving the two girls.

At the sound of him leaving, LoRayne hit the ground in frustration before pushing herself up. "Okay, I'm up! Gosh, not like we can get any sleep anyway with you two talking nonstop."

Elizabeth mumbled her agreement before pushing herself up also. As she did so, something thick and warm fell from her shoulders. Picking it up, she saw that it was a dark blue cloak.

"What is this?" She asked. LoRayne looked at it before looking at her own shoulders and noticed she had a similar cloak, dark green, around her own shoulders.

"A couple of our old cloaks." Fili answered, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Yes." Kili added with a matching smirk. "Being the gentlemen Dwarves that we are, we've decided to let you borrow them."

The girls rolled their eyes at the gentlemen comment but thanked the Dwarves for the cloaks. Seconds later, Bofur announced that breakfast was ready. Fili and Kili left with promises of bringing the girls their breakfast. While they were gone, Elizabeth and LoRayne packed up their things and returned them to their bags. Just as they were slinging their bags on their backs over the cloaks, the boys returned carrying two bowls each.

"Thank you." LoRayne said as she was handed a bowl from the blonde Dwarf who then took a seat on her other side.

Kili handed his extra bowl to Elizabeth before reaching under his arm and dropping the pair of boots he held at her feet. The brunette girl looked at them with a confused look on her face before he explained. "I noticed last night that you didn't have any footwear so I thought I would see if I could find you some. Ori's spare boots were the smallest I could find, though I think they might still be a little too big for you."

"No, that's alright." Elizabeth said quietly, stunned that he would do something like that for her when he had only known her a few days. Looking up at him, she gave him grateful smile. "That was very thoughtful. Thank you!"

A large smile appeared on Kili's face as he sat down and Elizabeth pulled the boots onto her cold feet. They were a little too big for her, but they were much better then the boots she had left at Bilbo's house.

The next couple minutes was filled with the sound of people eating. Breakfast was nothing special, just the leftover stew from the night before reheated over the fire and served once again. There were some complaints, but those died down quickly as stomachs growled. Food was food. Once everyone had finished, it was back to the ponies and onto the road once again.

* * *

The next week was dedicated to traveling, stopping only for meals and resting at the end of the day. By the third day, the girls became used to the majority of the day being spent on ponies. And the day after that they became used to the early rising and did it without complaints. While most would find it boring to constantly be on the road with very little to do, the girls found it be enjoyable. It was a way for them to learn more about the men they were traveling with.

Although they had already known that Balin was the smartest of the group, they soon found that he was also very sarcastic. He was always making comments under his breath about the behavior of some of the company members. Oin and Gloin where the best fire starters of the group and were able to make large, strong fires in a matter of minutes and from just about any type of wood. They stayed away from Nori as much as possible because things tended to go missing with him around. Dori acted like a mother hen and was constantly looking after his two brothers Nori and Ori.

Ori, in his spare time, was an artist. He could always be seen with his sketchbook out and a pencil in his hand. LoRayne quickly took to spending time with him, enjoying watching him create near identical replicas of foliage or the occasional company member. He was a little shy towards her at first, but when she showed him that she was a bit of an artist as well he quickly opened up to her. He even allowed her to borrow his sketchbook every once and a while so that she could do a few of her own drawings.

Elizabeth spent a large amount of her down time talking with Bilbo. He was having a bit of a hard time getting used to life on the road and was often telling her, in confidence, how much he missed his cozy Hobbit-Hole. But when he wasn't complaining about traveling, he was telling her everything about Hobbits; how much they liked comfort, gardens, and food.

Both girls spent a lot of time with Bombur. They helped him to prepare the meals as well as distribute them to the others. They enjoyed the time spent with him, finding him to be kind as well as funny even though he didn't say much.

And then there were Fili and Kili. LoRayne and Elizabeth learned right away that those two boys were just a couple of jokesters. While on the road they would pass the many hours telling the girls stories of the times they had gotten in trouble with their Uncle or mother for something they had done. Some of their favorite stories took place during their training sessions with their Uncle.

There was something else that they learned during the first week of traveling, and that was how much the Dwarves loved their beards. They often saw the men sitting up at night, unbraiding and re-braiding their beards until they were once again perfect. Elizabeth and LoRayne found it incredibly entertaining to watch them because some of them spent more time on their beards then the girls did on their own hair.

Nothing really interesting happened, however, until one of the days it rained the entire day. As usual, LoRayne and Elizabeth sat behind Fili and Kili at the back of the pack, the hoods of their borrowed cloaks pulled over their heads. The ponies moved slowly through the mud, some even getting stuck for a moment. Everyone was miserable.

"Mr. Gandalf, can't you do something about this deluge? " Dori asked a little before noon.

"It is raining Master Dwarf, and it will continue to rain until the rain is done." Gandalf called from atop his chocolate brown horse. "If you wish to change the weather of the world I suggest you find yourself another Wizard."

"And are there?" Bilbo asked, urging his pony forward so he road along side the gray-cloaked man. "Other Wizards?"

Elizabeth and LoRayne felt bad for the poor Hobbit. Fili and Kili's cloaks had proven to not only be good for the cold nights but for the rain as well. Bilbo had nothing but his jacket and had to endure the water soaking through his clothes and slicking his hair to his forehead.

"There are five of us." Gandalf said. "The highest of our order being Saruman. Then there are the two blue's." There was a pause as the Wizard though for a moment. "You know, I've quiet forgotten their names."

"And who is the fifth?" Bilbo asked, noticing that the Wizard had only named, or at least made mention to, three of the other four Wizards.

"Ah, that would be Radagast."

Bilbo was quiet for a moment before asking, "Is he a great wizard? Or is he… more like you?"

Even from a few feet behind and through the rain the girls were able to see that Gandalf was not amused by the Hobbit's comment. Both hid their faces in the backs of their riding companions to cover up their laughter.

"I think he's a fine Wizard, in his own way." He said, trying to keep the irritation from his voice. "He is a gentle soul who prefers the company of animals to people."

The company soon slipped into silence once again after that. They continued through the rain for a few more hours before they found a large rock over hang and decided to camp there for the night. The fire was made quickly and Bombur, LoRayne, and Elizabeth soon had dinner made and handed out. Fili and Kili ate their supper while on watch, LoRayne sat with Ori, and Elizabeth sat with Bilbo. LoRayne was watching Ori draw Oin and Gloin while Elizabeth had a quiet conversation with Bilbo.

"Don't you find it a little strange?" Bilbo said randomly, setting his half empty food bowl aside and resituating his blanket around his shoulders.

"What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked.

The Hobbit hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Well, we've been on the road for a week now and have not run into anything. Now I've never been on a quest before, but shouldn't we have run into trouble by now?"

Elizabeth chuckled slightly at the comment, setting her bowl beside Bilbo's. "Are you saying that you want trouble?"

"No!" He cried, drawing the eyes of the company. Blushing red, he apologized before continuing in a lower voice. "No, it's just that that, well – it seems a little weird that nothing has happened."

The brunette shook her head before grabbing her dinner once again, a faint smile on her face. "As bad as it sounds, I have a feeling our days of peaceful travel are coming to an end. No doubt we will be running into something soon."

The Hobbit let out a sigh before grabbing his bowl as well. "That is what I'm afraid of."

The conversation soon died down as they finished their meal and started to get ready of bed with the others. It wasn't until hours later that Elizabeth realized how right she was in saying that trouble would soon find them.

_Authors Note:: Sorry for the long wait but, yeah, things are starting to get busy here. Anyway, I hope you liked it! Thanks for all the reviews guys and for following, alerting, or reading this story. You all are awesome and I hope you continue to review and such if you like my story._


	15. Lost Ponies

**Lost Ponies**

The next day, the rain stopped which improved everyone's moods considerably. Once breakfast was eaten and the camp was broken down, it was back on the ponies and road once again. The rest of the day went just like they had been. Elizabeth and LoRayne spent the day conversing mostly with Fili and Kili but occasionally with a few of the other Dwarves. Lunch was a quicker then normal, however, because Thorin was against losing any more time. After Lunch, they returned to their ponies and rode until an hour to sunset. They came across the ruins of an old house and Thorin decided that it was as good a place as any to set up camp for the night.

"Fili, Kili, look after the ponies." Their leader said as he dismounted his pony and the company all came to a stop. "Make sure you stay with them."

"Ha ha, you have to watch the ponies again!" LoRayne teased as Fili slid down from his pony.

The blond Dwarf rolled his eyes and didn't comment.

"Oin, Gloin, Get a fire going." Thorin called, before he walked over to join Gandalf in the ruins.

"You know that because we are stopping for the night you are going to have to help Bombur make supper, right?" Kili pointed out after a few minutes of watching the other Dwarves unpack their Ponies.

LoRayne sat there for a moment, letting the information set in for a moment before folding her arms over her chest. "Shut up." Kili shared a laugh with his brother and Elizabeth. It was common knowledge amongst the Dwarves that LoRayne hated doing the small camp chores.

"I did not give you that map and key for you to hold onto the past, Thorin Oakenshield!" Gandalf scolded loudly, drawing Elizabeth and LoRayne's attention. When he saw that he was not going to be able to change the Dwarfs mind, he turned on his heal and stormed back to his horse.

Bilbo, who stood patting Myrtle's mane, watched confused as the wizard approached. "Gandalf, where are you going?"

"To seek the company of the only one around here who has any sense."

"Who's that?" Bilbo asked.

"Myself, Mr. Baggins!" Gandalf answered, "I've had enough of Dwarves for one day." And with that, he mounted his horse and rode off.

Elizabeth and LoRayne watched him go with similar sad expressions on their faces. Both could only hope that he would return soon. Though they had become relatively close with the brothers, Bilbo, and a few of the other Dwarves it was Gandalf that they felt most comfortable with.

"Come on, Bombur, we're hungry." Thorin ordered, turning away from the leaving Wizard.

"Better get going Lady LoRayne, Uncle is now in a bad mood and hungry." Kili teased as he hoped down from his pony before helping Elizabeth down.

LoRayne glared at the dark haired Dwarf and stuck out her tongue before sliding down from the gray pony and stomping off towards the woods. "I'll get some more wood for a fire." She called over her shoulder before disappearing beyond the tree line.

Elizabeth watched her friend go, an amused smile on her face. There were times that her friend could be really over dramatic but that's why she loved her; there was rarely a dull moment with her. With a chuckle, she walked over to the fire that Oin and Gloin had started and began helping Bombur make supper.

Everything was just about prepped when LoRayne returned with her arms full of sticks of varying sizes. Placing the arm full on the pile of wood from yesterday, she sat down next to Elizabeth and Bombur and started to help them finish putting the stew together. When it was all ready, they sat together off to the side and talked for the twenty minutes it took for the stew to cook before getting the bowls together and calling everyone to dinner.

Filling their own bowls, they sat down and started to eat while the others got in line. There was a silence for the longest time as everyone ate their food and enjoyed themselves.

Everyone but Bilbo that is. The Hobbit was pacing back and forth, shaking slightly. "He's been gone a long time." He muttered.

"Who?" Bofur, who was dishing stew into two bowls, asked.

"Gandalf."

"He's a Wizard! He does as he chooses." Bofur pointed out before handing Bilbo the two bowls of stew. "Do us a favor and take these to the lads, would you?"

Bilbo took the bowls before casting a weary look in the direction of the dark woods.

"We'll come with." Elizabeth offered, setting down her own stew and dusting herself off. She had had enough of watching some of the Dwarves eating for the night. Although she had been traveling with them so some time now their eating habits still grossed her out sometimes. She took one of the bowls from the Hobbit and started walking with him until she noticed that LoRayne hadn't joined them. "Come on." She said, grabbing hold of her friend's hand and pulling her to her feet.

"I'm not finished." The blonde whined, earning a few chuckles from the Dwarves around them.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Then bring it with."

LoRayne smiled happily and brought her stew with her as she walked with Bilbo and Elizabeth into the woods. In the darkness, it was hard to find the brothers at first, but they were soon found with their backs to them. Walking up to them, the three noticed right away that something wasn't right.

"What's wrong?" Elizabeth asked.

"We're supposed to be looking after the ponies." Kili stated, his face stony.

"Only we've encountered a slight problem." Fili added, looking at LoRayne who stood on his other side.

LoRayne took a bite of her stew before asking, "What's the problem?"

"We had sixteen," Kili said.

"Now there are fourteen," Fili finished.

The girls and Hobbit looked over in disbelief at the ponies grazing a few feet ahead of them. They all counted the horses and saw that the brothers had been telling the truth; there were only fourteen ponies present.

"Do you know who's missing?" Elizabeth asked once she had re-counted.

She was given her answer when the two brothers shared sheepish looks. The brunette rolled her eyes before handing the bowl of stew to Bilbo and nudging the brothers in the direction of the ponies. Fili started looking around to try and figure out what happened while Kili went around the horses and tried to figure out which ones were gone.

"Daisy and Bungle are missing." Kili informed before standing next to his brother.

"That's not good. That's not good at all." Bilbo said worriedly. "Shouldn't we tell Thorin?" This seemed like the sort of problem you told the person in charge.

"Eh, no." Fili said quickly before trying to shrug it off. The last thing he wanted was for his uncle to know that he and his brother had lost a couple ponies. "Best not worry him." He then turned to Bilbo. "As our official burglar, we though you might like to look into it."

Bilbo gave a nervous laugh, "Well, ah," he started before clearing his throat and trying to sound more professional. "It, ah, looks as though something big uprooted these trees."

"That was our thinking." Kili agreed as they all stood around the large tree laying on its side.

"What could have done this?" Elizabeth wondered aloud to no one in particular, silently hoping that no one answered because she was afraid of the answer.

No one did answer, but Bilbo pointed out that whatever had done it was indeed quite large and was perhaps dangerous. That did nothing to help settle Elizabeth's nerves.

LoRayne turned her gaze away from the tree to out in front of her. Her eyes scanned the tree line while she slowly spooned more stew into her mouth until she came across a faint light through a gap in the trees. "Hey guys, there's a light over here." She reported, not taking her eyes off the flickering orange spot.

Fili came over and stood beside her. Following her gaze, he noticed the light as well. "She's right, there's a light." He said before gesturing for his brother to come over.

"Way to go, Rainey." Elizabeth praised as they all came over and hunched down behind a fallen log, flashing her friend a smile before turning her attention to the light.

Very faintly, voices could be heard coming from the source of the light. It was hard to make out the exact words being said, LoRayne and Elizabeth only hearing mostly grunts.

"Trolls." Kili said angrily before hoping over the log and taking off through the trees, his brother following behind quickly.

"Really?" The two girls muttered in unison before climbing over the log as well and starting off after the brothers. They were in such a hurry that LoRayne forgot to grab her bowl of food before heading into the trees. Bilbo called for the girl to wait because she had forgotten it, but she just told him to leave it.

When they finally caught up with the brothers, the girls found them hiding behind another fallen tree.

"Do you really think it's a good idea to-" Elizabeth started to question only to be pulled to the ground and have a hand placed over her mouth by Kili. LoRayne had also been pulled to the ground by Fili. Both girls were about to protest when the sound of stomping met their ears. They watched, wide eyed, as a large Troll came stomping past them with a whining pony under each arm. They all waited until it was out of sight before them moved.

"Its got Myrtle and Minty." Bilbo said worriedly as he came out of his hiding spot. "I think they're going to eat them we've got to do something!"

LoRayne and Elizabeth peered over the edge of the log towards the light. They didn't want the ponies to be eaten; the thought of it was unbearable. They were needed for the journey to continue. Without them, who knows how long it would take for them to reach their destination.

"Yes, you should." Kili agreed while grabbing one of the bowls Bilbo still carried. "Mountain Trolls are slow and stupid. And you're so small they would never see it coming." Bilbo started to protest, but the Dwarf wouldn't have it. "It's perfectly safe, and we'll be right behind you!" He assured.

"If you get into trouble, hoot twice like a barn owl then once like a brown owl." Fili instructed, taking the other bowl from the Hobbit before pushing him in the direction the Troll had gone.

"Are you really going to just let him go off by himself?" Elizabeth asked in disbelief while watching Bilbo slowly start to make his way towards the Troll camp.

The brothers shrugged their shoulders before starting on their now almost cold stew. The girls watched them eat for a moment before they lost it.

"Really? You're just going to sit there eating?" LoRayne stated angrily, her hands on her hips. When neither Dwarf answered, she let out a huff before turning around and starting after the Hobbit.

"Where are you going?" Fili ordered, grabbing her shoulder to stop her.

LoRayne shook off his arm. "I'm going to go help Bilbo because clearly you two aren't." She snapped before walking away.

Elizabeth stood there for a moment with her arms crossed over her chest and a glare directed at the brothers before following her blonde friend. She was grabbed too, by Kili, and held in place.

"You can't go, you could get hurt." He said urgently, worry on his face.

Elizabeth turned around and let out a sigh. "You don't want me or them to get hurt? Then go and get help." Shaking his hand off, she turned around and started after her friends.

When Elizabeth rejoined LoRayne and Bilbo, they were standing on the outskirts of the Troll camp watching as one Troll dropped the two stolen ponies he was carrying into the makeshift pen on the other side of camp. "—These is west nags." He was saying before he took a seat around the campfire.

"Horse? I don't like horse." One grumbled. "Never have. Not enough fat on them."

Being the quietest Bilbo led the girls through the woods, telling them were to place their feet so they didn't trip or snap any twigs. They stopped for a moment when one of the Trolls sneezed loudly into the cauldron. The three hidden figures watched on with disgust on their faces while the Trolls reasoned that the floater might improve the flavor.

"That's disgusting." Bilbo muttered while looking slightly green in the face. The girls nodded their agreement before they returned to their mission.

Quickly they made their way over to the makeshift pen and started to try untying the large rope that held it together. Bilbo tried first but when he couldn't manage it LoRayne tried until Elizabeth took her turn to no avail.

"Now what?" The blonde asked, her voice a faint whisper.

Elizabeth started to look around her for something that could help them, a pointy stick or sharp rock maybe. Bilbo looked around as well and caught sight of a large knife hanging from the loincloth of one of the Trolls. Slowly, without telling either girl his plan, he started to crawl for it.

"Bilbo!" LoRayne whispered as loudly as she dared when she noticed him moving close to the Trolls, her eyes wide with worry.

At that moment, one of the Trolls started to reach behind him for a jug, missing Bilbo's head by inches. Grasping the handle of the jug, he brought it to his mouth and started to drink.

"Oi! That's my grog!" Another cried, beating the offending Troll while he apologized.

Bilbo used the momentary distraction to close the distance between him and the knife. Now that he was there he seemed a little unsure of what to do. Never before had he stole from someone before. Just as he was about to grab the knife, the Troll stood momentarily to scratch his bum before sitting down again.

Bilbo stood stunned for a moment before grabbing the knife with both of his hands. Just as he was about to lift, a large hand came around and grabbed him. Within seconds, he was lifted into the air before he was used as a handkerchief. Covered in Troll snot, he was removed from the Trolls face as the monster let out a scream of fright.

"Oh, blimey! Look what's come out of me hooter!"

"What is it?"

"I dunno," The one holding Bilbo cried, "But I don't like the way it wriggles around!"

LoRayne and Elizabeth winced as they watched Bilbo be thrown to the ground. Both wanted to help, but they weren't sure how. So they just stayed hidden and watched what happened.

"What are you? An oversized squirrel?" One of them asked.

"I'm a burglar- I mean a Hobbit!" Bilbo stood tall but his slightly shaking voice gave him away.

"Can we cook it?"

"We can try!" One yelled, lunging for the Hobbit.

Bilbo stumbled away from the Troll only to by poked with a ladle. "He wouldn't make more than a mouthful. Not when he's skinned and boned!"

"We've got to do something!" LoRayne whispered urgently. They had moved away from the pen and were now watching from the cover of some trees. Bilbo was trying to run away. He ducked one of the Trolls flailing arms, but was caught and hung upside down by another.

"Are there any more of you hiding were you shouldn't?" The Troll holding Bilbo asked.

Elizabeth and LoRayne looked frantically for something, anything that could help them. Not that far from them, Elizabeth saw a decent sized rock and decided it was better than nothing. Picking it up, she stepped out from the tree line and aimed for the Troll holding Bilbo. She was just about to release it when someone yelled and ran from the bushes. The figure charged one of the Trolls and slashed at its feet.

"Drop him!" Kili ordered, holding his sword out in front of him.

The Trolls all shared a confused look before turning back to Kili.

"You what?"

A confident, almost taunting smile appeared on the Dwarfs face as he spun his sword. With his hair falling in his face and his determined expression, Elizabeth couldn't help but admire how attractive he was.

"I said," Another spin of the sword, "Drop him."

The Troll holding Bilbo glared at the Dwarf before throwing the Hobbit at him. Bilbo yelled as he flew through the air before landing on top of Kili. Just as the two of them hit the ground, all the other Dwarves sprang from the trees where they had been hiding and attacked. Splitting up, they started slashing and stabbing at the Trolls who all let out cries of pain. Elizabeth and LoRayne watched the action from the rocks.

"Are we really going to just sit here and do nothing?" LoRayne asked loudly to be heard over the war cries from the Dwarves and the cries of pain from the Trolls.

"And what are supposed to do? We don't have weapons." Elizabeth pointed out sassily. "And even if we did, we don't know how to fight. We'd probably just end up getting in the way."

LoRayne let out a huff of frustration. "But I just feel so useless!"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes before looking around. Bilbo had the troll knife that he had tried to obtain before being covered in Troll snot. He was going to free the ponies.

"Come on, let's go help Bilbo." She said before turning and making her way towards the makeshift pen. She made it a few steps before she turned around and noticed that her friend had not followed her. "LoRayne!" she cried when she saw her friend running towards the fight. For a moment she stood there conflicted before turning back around and going to help Bilbo, praying that her friend would be safe.

And she was. On her way towards the fight, LoRayne had grabbed the sharpest rock that she could find in such short notice. Dodging around the Dwarves, she ran towards the nearest Troll and attacked it with her rock; slamming the sharp end as hard as she could into its leg. It let out another loud yell and lifted its foot to step on her, but she was already gone. She was just about the grab another rock and got after one of the other two Trolls when she noticed one looking at Bilbo and Elizabeth. They had cut through the rope and were now standing with their backs toward the fight and were urging the ponies to run. The Troll decided that was the time to grab them.

LoRayne quickly abandoned the task of fighting and put all her energy of saving her friend. Being faster then the Troll, she was able to make it to the pen before him. "Look out!" She cried. Elizabeth had just enough time to turn around and see the out stretched hand of the Troll before LoRayne tackled her to the ground and out of sight.

"Thanks." She muttered, pushing herself up slightly.

"Thank me later." LoRayne said as she got to her feet and offered her friend a hand. "We've gotta move."

Once Elizabeth was on her feet, the two made their way through the woods until they came to where all the Dwarves stood. Stepping out, they went to stand beside Fili who let out a sigh of relief at the sight of them.

"There you two are… Where's—" He started only to be interrupted by his brother.

"Bilbo!"

LoRayne had knocked Elizabeth out of the Trolls path, but the poor Hobbit hadn't been so lucky. He was being held by two of the Trolls by his arms and legs while the other stood close by. A helpless expression was etched onto his face as he looked down at his fellow company members.

"Lay down your arms!" The Troll ordered while the other two pulled on Bilbo's limbs, causing a look of pain to come onto his face. "Or we'll rip his off!"

The Dwarves stood there breathing heavy, all looking to Thorin for orders. The Dwarf King stood there for a moment before throwing his sword to the ground. Kili turned to his Uncle in disbelief for he had thought they would still fight. He turned to the Trolls and shot them a venomous look before throwing his own sword to the ground. The other Dwarves followed suit, each throwing down their arms. Ori was one of the last drop his weapon, throwing down his slingshot with all his anger.

_Authors Note:: Here is a nice long update for you wonderful readers! You're reviews are so amazing, I can't help but smile and feel so loved when I read them. Same goes for when I see that someone new has added this story to their favorites or alert list. So thank you everyone!_


	16. Parasites and Troll caves

**Parasites and Troll caves**

Now that the company was weaponless, the Trolls had no problem rounding them all up. Half of them were stripped down to their long underwear and tied to a spit over the fire while the other half was stuffed into canvas bags, so that only their heads were visible, and thrown into a pile off the side. Elizabeth and LoRayne were part of the group shoved into sacks. Elizabeth's head lay close to Kili's chest and her body across Gloin's legs with LoRayne's head resting on her stomach and legs resting by Fili''s head. The two groups yelled and fought against their bonds while the Trolls just sat around the fire.

"This is just wonderful!" Elizabeth muttered sarcastically while she tried to get out of her sack.

LoRayne tried to do the same before stopping and turning to her friend. "Get your head over here." She ordered.

"That might be a little difficult seeing as I have no use of my hands or legs!"

"Just try!" The blonde ordered. Elizabeth did as she was told and brought her head as close as she could to her friends. LoRayne stretched as far as she could until she was close enough to the rope that kept Elizabeth sealed in her sack. Using her teeth, she tried to loosen the rope only to spit it out after a few seconds. "That thing is disgusting! It tastes like death!"

Elizabeth wrinkled her nose while leaning back. "It was a good idea." She muttered quietly, upset that it didn't work.

"Yeah, really glad I thought of it." LoRayne muttered as well between trying to spit the taste of rope form her mouth.

By now, the Trolls were starting to get anxious. One of them stood up and started moving. "Don't bother cooking them." He said impatiently. "Let's just sit on them and squash them into jelly."

The two girls looked at each other, both wide eyed. They did not want to be anywhere near the Trolls' stinky butts!

The Troll wearing the apron shook his head. "They should be sautéed and grilled with a sprinkle of sage." The company all let out yells. They neither wanted to be sautéed or sat on, they wanted to live!

The first Troll thought about this for a moment before smiling. "that does sound quite nice." He admitted, licking his lips.

"Nevermind the seasoning; we ain't got all night!" The Troll who spun the spit ordered, "Dawn ain't far away! And I don't fancy being turned to stone!"

There came a few more groans from the Dwarves as they tried to free themselves before they were soon cut off when Bilbo shouted.

"Wait! You are making a terrible mistake!"

"You can't reason with them- they're halfwits!" Dori yelled from the spit.

"Halfwits, what does that make us?" Bofur called as he rotated around.

Bilbo ignored the warnings from the Dwarves as he, with some difficulty, pushed himself up. "Uh, I meant with the, uh, with the seasoning."

"What about the seasoning?" One of the Trolls asked, looking down at him.

Bilbo paused for a moment, intimidated by the large Troll, before continuing. "Have you smelt them?"

The Dwarves in the sacks stared open mouthed at him while the Dwarves on the spit through glares when they rotated around enough so that he was in their sight. LoRayne and Elizabeth were also offended. True it had been a while since they last bathed and their hair had seen better days, but that didn't mean Bilbo could say they stank!

"You're gonna need something stronger than sage before you plate this lot up."

No longer could the Dwarves contain themselves. They started shouting loudly, calling the Hobbit a traitor and villain. Elizabeth started yelling at how she no longer wanted to be friends with him while LoRayne threatened to beat him as soon as she got out of her sack.

"What do you know about cooking Dwarves?" The Troll turning the spit asked haughtily.

The Troll with only one good eye shushed his companion before bending down to look at Bilbo. "Let the burbler-hobbit speak."

Bilbo seemed slightly surprised, "The um… secret to cooking Dwarf is, um…"

"Yes?" The Troll asked impatiently. "Come on."

"Is…is…"

"Tell us the secret!"

"Yes, I'm telling you!" Bilbo said frustrated, "the secret is… to… to skin them first!"

This caused the Dwarves to become even angrier. The ones in the sacks tried with new energy to escape from their bonds to attack the traitor Hobbit while the ones on the spit could do nothing but yell their anger.

"I'm going to remember that!" Dwalin yelled, glaring at the Hobbit as he came into view.

Again the Trolls ignored the shouting Dwarves.

"What a load of 'wubbish!" The Troll cried the Troll controlling the spit. "I've eaten plenty with their skins on. Scuff them, I say, boots and all."

"He;s right!" Agreed the third Troll before walking over toward the pile were he picked up Bombur. "Nothing wrong with a bit of raw dwarf." He exclaimed before hanging the large Dwarf face first over his mouth. "Nice and crunchy!"

"No! Not that one!" Bilbo cried desperately before the Troll dropped Bombur into his waiting mouth. "He-he's infected!"

The Troll holding Bombur turned to Bilbo, a horrified look on his face.

"Yeah. He's got worms, in his…tubes."

The Troll let out a noise of disgust before throwing the large Dwarf back to the pile where he landed directly on Kili who groaned loudly. Elizabeth had to lift and turn her head to avoid it being crushed as well. Kili worked quickly to get Bombur off of him, helping him roll off to the side.

"Yes, in fact, they all have it." Bilbo continued. "They're in-infested with parasites! It's a terrible business- I wouldn't risk it, I really wouldn't."

If it was even possible, the Dwarves became even more offended.

"Did he just say- we do not have parasites!" Kili yelled, "YOU have parasites!"

The other Dwarves started yelling as well, insisting that they didn't have parasites. The girls, by now, had caught on to what Bilbo was doing and rolled their eyes at the Dwarves. They really weren't the brightest at times. Thorin seemed to be the only Dwarf who understood what the Hobbit was doing because he sent a hard kick at his nephew who quickly shut up.

"I've got parasites as big as my arm." Oin said loudly as realization came over all the dwarves.

"Mine are the biggest parasites! I've got huge parasites!" Kili protested.

"No, mine are the biggest!"

Soon, all the Dwarves started joining in. Even the ones tied to the spit started shouting about parasites.

"We're riddled!"

"I can feel mine moving!" Elizabeth cried, wiggling around in her sack.

LoRayne started to move around too. "God save us from these parasites!"

The Trolls grumbled at the antics of the Dwarves while the one behind the spit came stomping up to Bilbo. "What you have us do then?" Let 'em all go?"

Bilbo tilted his head while a slightly smug smile appeared on his face, "Well..."

"You think I don't know what you're up to?" The Troll growled before turning to his companions. "This little ferret is taking us for fools!"

"Ferret!" Bilbo gasped, offended.

The Troll just started spinning the spit when a figure appeared atop the rock behind them. "The dawn will take you all!" Gandalf cried in a powerful drawing attention to himself.

"Who's that?"

"Can we eat him too?"

The Trolls started to make their way towards the Wizard when he lifted his staff high above his head before bringing it down. The hit was powerful and cause the rock he stood on to split in two and allow the brilliant light of day wash over the Trolls. They all cried in horror as their skin started to turn to stone until they still as still as statues. Everything was quiet for a moment before they all cheered.

Gandalf then hopped down from the rock and made his way towards Bilbo where he undid the Hobbits bonds, thus freeing him from the sack. The next couple of minutes was filled with everyone being freed from either their sacks or from the spit.

"We're alive!" Elizabeth cried happily as she tackled her friend in a hug. LoRayne returned the hug, a smile on her face. They were indeed alive.

Not to far away, Gandalf and Thorin were discussing the Trolls and how odd it was for them to come down from the mountains. They also said something about a cave, which Thorin sent Fili and Kili to search for. The two brothers left excitedly and returned ten minutes later with the location of the cave. The company then split up, half going to the cave while the other half returned to camp to retrieve their things.

* * *

Elizabeth and LoRayne, Bilbo, Bifur, Bombur, Ori and Dori, and Oin were the ones selected to return to camp. With all the excitement dying down, the fact no one had gotten any sleep started to set in. Everyone moved slowly as they packed up the camp and even slower when they carried it all back. When they finally made their way to the Troll cave entrance, they saw that everyone but Fili, Kili, and Balin were inside the cave.

"I'm. So. Tired!" Elizabeth complained, dropping the bags she carried in the forming pile before plopping down on her butt and covering her face with her hands. "I need sleep!"

LoRayne rolled her eyes at her friend before burying her nose in the crook of her elbow. "Dear lord, what is that smell!" She cried.

"What are you talking abo—Gross!" Elizabeth yelled as well as the smell reached her own nose. Lying on her stomach, she pulled the hood of her cloak over her head in the hope that it would shield her from the disgusting smell, as well as the sun, while she rested her head on her arms.

The Dwarves not down in the cave let out chuckles at the girls behavior, having gotten used to them not being very ladylike, before one of them gave an answer.

"We are standing outside of a Trolls cave, what did you expect, Lass?" Balin said, looking and speaking to LoRayne because it had appeared that Elizabeth was no longer paying attention.

LoRayne looked at the older Dwarf, a disgusted look still on her face. "Still, it's just so bad. How can the others stand it down there?"

This time her answer went unanswered as the Dwarves had spread out to look around or rest. Bombur was sitting not to far away snacking on something. LoRayne thought about going over and asking for some of whatever he was eating when Nori exited the Cave.

"Has anyone got the shovel?" He asked in a hurry, looking at the large pile of gear.

Elizabeth, who had brought over the shovel, along with some other gear, stretched out a hand until it connected with the wooden handle. With her head still rested on one of her arms, she then lifted the tool from the ground and waited for it to be taken.

"You're welcome." The words came out slightly muffled by the material of the cloak.

The next couple of minutes passed in silence. Elizabeth remained where she was on the ground, having fallen asleep. A few of the Dwarves had also been able to drift off to dreamland, some leaning against tree trunks while others lay on the ground like Elizabeth. LoRayne, although she was tired, did not feel like sleeping. So instead of resting, she looked around the entrance of the cave with Fili and Kili, turning over rocks and examining pottery.

When those who had been down in the cave resurfaced, everyone who was sleeping was jerked awake. Elizabeth sat up and looked around, momentarily having forgotten where she was. LoRayne watched as Gandalf, who had been the last to exit, handed Bilbo a short sword with a huff.

"What is it?" Fili asked.

LoRayne turned to look at the Dwarf. "Now even Mr. Bilbo has a weapon and I am left with nothing." She said, crossing her arms over her chest grumpily.

The blonde Dwarf looked at her thoughtfully for a moment before pulling out one on of his daggers and handing it, handle out, to the girl. LoRayne looked at it for a moment before turning back to Fili.

"Are you sure?" She asked, unable to believe that she was being offered a weapon. She had turned her attention once again to the weapon but was able to see Fili's head nod out of the corner of her eyes.

LoRayne continued to look at the weapon before slowly reaching out and grasping the handle. The weight of it felt weird in her hand as well as comforting. It would have to be something she got used to.

"Thank you." She said excitedly, jumping up and throwing her arms around him. The action startled the Dwarf for a moment, but he soon recovered and returned the hug.

When the two let go of each other, Fili cleared his throat before offering to show LoRayne a few simple moves, which LoRayne accepted. He showed her how to hold it if she intended to throw it as well as the best places to stab in the case of someone attacking her. They were just about to practice throwing at a couple of trees when snapping twigs reached their ears.

"Something's coming!" Yelled Thorin while Gandalf called for everyone to arm themselves.

The company quickly moved together and drew their weapons. Elizabeth looked at her dagger wielding best friend with confusion before turning her head and giving her attention to the advancing danger. The bushes in front of them soon burst open and an odd man on a sleigh stopped in the middle of them.

"Thief! Murder!" The man cried loudly.

"Are those rabbits?" Elizabeth asked LoRayne quietly, staring in disbelief at the ten or so large rabbits attached to the sleigh.

The blonde slowly nodded her head, a look of disgust on her face. "I really hope that isn't what I think it is in his hair…" She muttered before turning away

"Radagast," Gandalf greeted, lowering his sword before approaching the man. "Radagast the Brown. What on earth are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you, Gandalf." Radagast spoke quickly with panic laced in his voice. "Something's wrong. Something is terribly wrong."

Everyone stood there quietly, waiting for the brown Wizard to continue. When he said nothing, Gandalf offered a little push, "Yes?"

Radagast stood there for a moment, opening and closing his mouth before he furrowed his brows in confusion. "I had a thought, but I've lost it. It was right there, on the tip of my tongue." Slowly his speech became hard to understand. "Oh! It's not a thought at all! It's a silly old…" He stuck out his tongue and Gandalf pulled a bug from his mouth. "-stick insect."

Elizabeth shuddered at the thought of having an insect in her mouth while Gandalf handed the bug to Radagast. The two Wizards then wondered off to talk leaving the Dwarves, Elizabeth and LoRayne, and Bilbo to sit around and wait. LoRayne and Fili went off to practice throwing daggers while Elizabeth sat on the ground with her back against a tree and her eyes closed.

Everything was quiet for the longest time until the silence was broken by a low howl. Instantly, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked around. Fili and LoRayne returned quickly while Elizabeth sat with her eyes wide open.

"Was that a wolf?" Bilbo asked, fear written on his face. "A-are there wolves out there?"

Bofur slowly scanned the surrounding area. "Wolves? No, that was not a wolf." He said, his voice shaking slightly.

Another growl cut through the silence, this one closer. Turning around, the company saw the approaching beast moments before it pounced on an unsuspecting Dori. A few of the Dwarves pounded at the creature with their hammers and axes, killing it quickly. But before they could relax, another growl could be heard as a second wolf-like creature attacked from the other side. The creature sprang from the hill, aiming for Thorin, only to fall to the ground with an arrow in its head. Elizabeth sprang to her feet and quickly moved to stand behind Kili who still had his bow raised while Dwalin pounded the creature in the head with his hammer.

"Warg Scouts!" The Dwarf leader called, "Which means an Orc pack isn't far behind."

"Orc pac?." Bilbo repeated, not liking the sound of it.

Gandalf quickly closed the distance between himself and Thorin. "Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin?"

"No one."

"Who did you tell?" Gandalf asked again, this time more loudly.

"No one, I swear!" Thorin's face slid from defensive to slightly confused. "What in Dorin's name is going on?"

Gandalf searched the surrounding area quickly before turning back to the Dwarf. "You are being hunted."

No one reacted well to that news. Dwalin quickly suggested that they all get out of there only for Ori to came back and inform the company that their ponies had bolted. Elizabeth quickly moved away from Kili and went to stand next to LoRayne and Bilbo.

Radagast soon stepped forward. "I'll draw them off." He said confidently.

Gandalf stared at the brown clad Wizard and gave him a disapproving look. "These are Gundabad Wargs- they will outrun you."

"These are Rhosgobel rabbits," Radagast assured smugly, jabbing his thumb in the direction of his rabbit drawn sleigh. "I'd like to see them try."

"So our fate is in the hands of rabbit Santa." LoRayne muttered to Elizabeth, "That's just great."

_Authors notes:: okay guys, i'm back! i have to admit, i'm a little disappointed that i didn't get any reviews on the pervious chapter. but whatever. i hope you like this one! all the chapters leading up to this one have been edited, so make sure you check them out! _


	17. The chase

**The chase **

Everyone moved quickly after that. The gear, which thankfully hadn't been loaded onto the ponies yet, was packed up and distributed evenly to everyone. The girls tightened their personal bags to their backs as well as the extra gear they had been handed. They had been given five minutes to get everything ready and now those five minutes was up.

Quickly, the company followed after Gandalf and left Radagast behind. While they had been packing, it had been decided that Radagast would give them a few minutes head start before he started drawing attention to himself. They had just broken through the tree line and made it to the rocks when they heard the first of Radagast's shouts and the howls of the Wargs. Gandalf acted as lookout. Once he had seen Radagast ride by on his rabbit sleigh, leading the Wargs away, he started miming to them that it was all clear.

And then they were running.

LoRayne moved quickly and almost effortlessly, staying towards the front of the pack. Running for your life was great motivation. Elizabeth, on the other hand, was one of those bringing up the rear.

"Just breath, Lass. Breathing is key." Gloin encouraged, patting Elizabeth's back lightly as they ducked momentarily behind yet another rock formation.

The brunette took a deep breath before straightening up. She just had enough time to offer a small smile as thanks for his concern when they were forced to run once again.

The next couple minutes passed like this. The company would sprint from one rock formation to the other, pausing only long enough to make sure that there were no Wargs in sight. Occasionally, Radagast led the Wargs and their riders a little too close and they were able to hear him taunt them as well as the Wards' growls. Those times where the scariest. One of those times, Ori didn't know that it wasn't safe to run out and was almost seen by the passing threat. Luckily, Thorin was there to pull him back in time.

However, that seemed to be the end of their good luck streak.

The group had just hidden behind an outcropping of rock when a Warg happened to catch their scent. It wasn't long before it appeared on top of their hiding place, it's nose in the air. LoRayne turned to Thorin, hoping that he had a plan. And he did. Thorin turned to his nephew and nodded his head towards the arrows strapped to his back. Kili nodded in understanding before grabbing an arrow, readying it, stepping away from the rock and letting it fly. It hit the beast in the chest. Another arrow follows, burying itself in the Orc.

LoRayne and Elizabeth moved aside to avoid being crushed by the falling Warg and its rider. Good thing too because the Orc pushed itself up soon after landing on the ground and charged them with a large sword in hand. Dwalin and Bifur were ready though, striking it with their hammers. Thorin was quick to help as well and they soon succeeded in killing both the Orc and the Warg.

However, they hadn't succeeded in killing them quietly.

"Move. Run!" Gandalf yelled as the howls of the Wargs started to get closer.

The company now moved with more urgency. Although it felt as though her lungs and legs were on fire, Elizabeth urged herself to run faster; this time staying next to LoRayne towards the front of the pack. But it seemed that no matter how fast or hard they ran, they couldn't get away from the Wargs and their riders. They seemed to be everywhere.

Coming to a clearing, they looked around and saw that there was nowhere left for them to run. Wargs were seen all around them.

"There's more coming!" Kili yelled before turning back to the impending threat.

"Kili! Shoot them!" Thorin yelled back, realizing that he was the only one with a long distance weapon.

Kili did as instructed, firing off arrow after arrow at either an advancing Warg or its rider. Getting ready to fight, the other Dwarves started forming a large circle. In the very center of this circle were Elizabeth, LoRayne, Bilbo, and Bombur. Not too far in front of them stood Bofur, Dwalin, and Thorin. It wasn't until one of the Dwarves asked that the girls noticed Gandalf was no long with them.

"He has abandoned us!" Dwalin yelled, his anger clear in his tone.

Elizabeth shared a look with her friend, disbelief and confusion joining the frightened expression she wore. The blonde wore a similar expression on her face. Neither could believe that Gandalf would just abandoned them. They thought that he was there friend.

"Hold your ground!" Thorin ordered, drawing the sword he had taken from the Troll cave.

LoRayne drew the dagger Fili had given to her and took a small step forward so that she stood slightly in front of Elizabeth. While the brunette was worried about her friend putting herself in danger, she was a little glad as well seeing as she didn't have a weapon of her own.

"This way you fools!" Came a shout from behind.

Whipping their heads around, Elizabeth and LoRayne saw Gandalf standing in the middle of a rock formation. He continued to look at them for a moment before ducking down and disappearing. The two girls shared a look before taking off towards the formation. As they got closer, they saw that it formed a bit of a rockslide. Hopping over the first rock, they slid down together and landed with a small thud on the ground. They sat there for a moment before rolling out of the way as others came.

Slowly the small cave began to fill up with Dwarves until all but three were left. Elizabeth scanned the group to see who was missing and noticed that Fili, Kili, and Thorin were not present. Just at the thought was realized, the three came down the slide one at a time. Now that everyone was present, they all looked to the entrance of the cave like place, waiting for the Orcs to find them, their weapons held at the ready.

But an attack never came.

From up above, the sound of a horn could be heard blowing loudly followed by sudden loud thumps. The company could do nothing but stand and wait, wondering what was happening above. Their questions were soon answered when an Orc suddenly came rolling down the slide. The Dwarves in the front suddenly pushed back and waited for the Orc to attack. But it didn't. Slowly they approached the body to examine it. Thorin bent down and pulled a slim wooden rode from the creature's neck.

"Elves." He muttered in disgust, throwing the broken arrow tip to the ground.

"I do not see where the pathway leads." Dwalin called from behind, drawing everyone's attention. "Do we follow it or no?"

"Follow it, of course!" Bofur answered, grabbing his stuff quickly and pushing towards the tunnel.

The other Dwarves quickly followed, all wanting to get out of the way of the Elves. The girls followed more slowly, wondering what could have happened to cause the Dwarves extreme hatred toward the Elves.

"I think that would be wise." Gandalf said quietly, causing the girls to look back at him. The Wizard winked slyly at the two before hoarding them after the Dwarves.

He knew something that they didn't.

The tunnels were narrow and seemed to be never ending. A couple of times, Bombur, with his large stomach, became stuck between the walls of the tunnel and needed to be pushed by the others from behind. Now that they weren't about to die at the hands of Orcs, Elizabeth and LoRayne found themselves in a better mood, giggling at the large Dwarfs misfortune behind their hands. At first they felt bad for laughing at one of their new friends, but then got over it when they remember that all the Dwarves had laughed at them for something silly at least once so far and the journey.

It was about five minutes before the tunnel finally opened up into a landing. LoRayne and Elizabeth stood on either side of Bilbo with their mouths slightly open and their eyes wide for what stood before them was the most breathtaking sight they had every had the pleasure of seeing. Not too far away sat what appeared to be a small city fitted alongside the mountain. Hundreds of waterfalls flowed either below or threw the buildings and formed amazing sheets of water over rock.

"The Valley of Imladris." Gandalf said as he stepped out from the tunnel. "In the common tongue, it's known by another name."

"Rivendell." Bilbo muttered quietly.

Somewhere deep in Elizabeth's mind, she knew that she knew the name from somewhere. LoRayne as well. But both pushed the thought away, not wanting anything to distract them from the scene they were looking at. "It's beautiful." The Brunette breathed.

"Yes." Gandalf agreed before continuing. "Here lies the last Homely House east of the sea."

"So this was your plan all along." Thorin grumbled, stepping forward so that he was standing in front of the Wizard. "To seek refuge with our enemy."

"You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield. The only ill will to be found in this valley is that which you bring with you yourself."

Elizabeth and LoRayne shared an uncomfortable look with Bilbo before walking away. They didn't really fancy listening to Thorin try and fight with Gandalf. They wanted to look at Rivendell some more. So they pushed their way through the Dwarves until they were standing in front of them all and were even closer to the beautiful city. They stood there with happy smiles on their faces until Gandalf came up behind them with a grumpy Thorin not to far behind. They called for the others to gather and to inform them that they were going to be visiting the Elf settlement. Bilbo, Elizabeth, and LoRayne seemed to be the only ones excited to be going to Rivendell. Some of the Dwarves seemed indifferent while the others were upset and wiry like Thorin.

"And I thought this place looked amazing from afar." Elizabeth breathed as the company slowly made their way across a long stone bridge onto a patio type place.

"I know, right?" LoRayne agreed, turning her head from side to side. A set of disbelieving snorts from behind alerted the girls of Fili and Kili's presence.

"Oh come on. You can not stand there and say that this place isn't beautiful." LoRayne said, turning around to face the brothers.

"This is all fine and well, I suppose. If you like Elvish architecture." Fili answered with a slight shrug of his shoulders. He would admit that it was nice to look at, but he would much prefer to be standing in the middle of Erebor and taking in it's sights.

Elizabeth opened her mouth to ask Fili what was wrong with the architecture, but before she could form words a soft voice from behind greeted them.

"Mithrandir."

The company turned and watched as a young Elf with brown hair descended the stairs and stood in front of them. The Dwarves all eyed the Elf suspiciously while Gandalf greeted him like an old friend. The Dwarves become even more uncomfortable when the Elf started speaking in the language of his people.

"_We heard you had crossed into the valley._" The words came out soft and lyrical.

"Stay sharp." Thorin muttered quietly to Dwalin who nodded. Neither Dwarf's eyes left the Elf.

"I must speak with Lord Elrond." Gandalf said.

"My Lord Elrond is not here." The Elf apologized, speaking this time in English so the rest of the company was able to understand what was being said.

This surprised Gandalf because it was rare that Elrond left his home. "Not here?" He asked to clarify that he had heard correct. "Where is he?"

Before the Elf could answer, the loud blare of a horn, similar to the one that had heard while in the cave, rang through the air followed by the sound of multiple hoof beats. Someone yelled for the company to move together and form ranks, which they did quickly around Bilbo, LoRayne, and Elizabeth. The Dwarves stood with their weapons ready while the horse riding Elves formed a circle around them.

"Gandalf," A dark haired Elf greeted while dismounting from his horse. Another Elf dismounted also and stood behind the first, his blonde hair visible under his helmet. "You remember my General, Alagos."

"Oh course, Lord Elrond, Alagos." Gandalf said, bowing to both Elves before switching tongues, "_My friend. Where have you been?_"

"He's hot." LoRayne muttered quietly to Elizabeth who just rolled her eyes. She wasn't sure which Elf her friend was talking about, but she didn't really care. She had a feeling that she was going to be hearing that for the remainder of their stay in Rivendell. She turned her attention back to the conversation being held in Elvish.

"_We've been hunting a pack of Orcs that came up from the South._" Lord Elrond was saying, although none but Gandalf and the other elves could understand. "_We slew a number of them bear the Hidden Pass,_" He handed one of the Orcs swords to the Elf that had greeted them. When he turned back to Gandalf, he switched back the language of men, "Very strange for Orcs to come so close to our borders."

There was a small pause before the Elf spoke again, this time with a tone of knowing in his voice. "Something, or someone, must have drawn them near."

"Ah, that may have been us." Gandalf agreed, nodding a head towards the Dwarves.

Their ranks slowly loosened as Thorin took a step forward. Elrond took a step forward as well so that he was only about a foot away. "Welcome Thorin, son or Train."

"I do not believe we've met." Thorin said. It was clear from his voice that he was not happy to be there.

A few more words were exchanged before Lord Elrond started to speak in the language of the Elves. Of course, because he was speaking it while looking directly at Thorin, it didn't exactly go over well with the Dwarves.

"What is he saying? Does he offer us insult?" Gloin asked angrily, taking a step towards the Elf. The other Dwarves started to yelled as well, offended by Lord Elrond's unknown words.

The three Elves stood there, amused looks on their faces.

"No Master Gloin," Gandalf assured, rolling his eyes. "He is offering you food."

The Dwarves all reformed a huddle and quickly discussed the offering of food before turning back to the Elves and Gandalf.

"Ah, well," Gloin said sheepishly, "In that case, lead on."

Elrond offered a smile before gesturing to the still armored blonde Elf behind him. "Alagos will show you where you made unload your things and rest before dinner." While the Dwarves started to gather their things, a lady Elf with dark black hair walked over to Elrond and whispered something in his ears. "I have been informed that rooms have just been prepared for the ladies and Hobbit. If you three would kindly follow Meldiriel."

Bilbo looked excited at the idea of spending the night in a real room but LoRayne and Elizabeth shared a hesitant look, both unsure of whether or not them wanted to leave their fellow company members. Fili and Kili both seemed reluctant as well to let them leave. The girls shared brief looks with the brothers before shrugging their shoulders.

"We'll see you at dinner." Elizabeth assured, offering a small smile before nodding for Meldiriel to lead the way to their rooms.

_Authors note:: yeah, i don't really like this one so it will most likely be updated at one point. thank you to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter. it really means a lot to me! the next one will be very interesting so you should all get ready for that. _


	18. Getting Ready

**Getting Ready**

"I've missed this." Elizabeth sighed happily, sinking lower into the tub of warm water.

"Me too." LoRayne agreed laying her head back, eyes closed.

They had been led up a flight of stairs and down a few long hallways before they were stopped. Bilbo was shown his room before the girls were shown to theirs, which was down another hall. Once there, they were given an opportunity to chose from a large number of many different dresses before offered baths. Sturdy dividers separated them from each other and the room. After being on the road with a bunch of men for a week, it was nice to just have some girl time and a chance to feel clean and normal again.

They had been informed that Dinner would be ready shortly so the baths were cut short. Once they had scrubbed every part of themselves clean, turning the once clean water a gross brown color in the process, they wrapped themselves in beautiful silk robes before going to collect their dresses and get ready.

LoRayne finished changing first and stood impatiently by the door, her arms crossed over her chest. She wore a long sleeveless, ruby red dress embroidered with gold. Her blonde hair was still slightly damp but was drying quickly. It fell past her shoulders in slight waves.

"Will you hurry up? I'm starving over here!" She cried.

Elizabeth looked away from the vanity and reflection of herself, a brush lifted halfway to her head. "No." She said slowly, "I still have to brush my hair."

The blonde let out a scoff while rolling her eyes. "Really? Can't you just braid it or something so we can go?"

The brunette shook her head before turning away and starting to run the brush through her damp hair. "No. I'm tired of braiding or throwing it up. I've been doing that for the past week! I wanna do something different for once."

LoRayne let out a scoff before leaning back against the door. "Yeah right, you just want to look nice for Kili, don't you?"

"No, I just want to look nice in general." Elizabeth spoke in an even indifferent tone, but her burning cheeks gave her away.

"Really? Then how come you picked the blue dress? It wouldn't have anything to do with the fact he said it was his favorite color would it?" LoRayne teased, smirking slightly.

Elizabeth looked down at the dress she had chosen. It was very similar to LoRayne's except for the colors. While the blondes' was red and gold, Elizabeth's was dark blue and silver. The brunette let out a sigh before turning back to her friend.

"You know that blues my favorite color so don't even start. And even if I did want to look nice for Kili, is that a crime?"

A large grin appeared on LoRayne's face. "No!" She said excitedly, her hunger momentarily forgotten. "That's great! You should tell him that you like him!"

Elizabeth's eyes grew wide. "What? No! Why would I do that? No!" She asked loudly, horrified at the idea.

"Oh, come on! Why not?"

"Because I'm pretty sure he doesn't like me back." She said defensively, her face falling. She could already see herself confessing her feelings for the Dwarf only for him to laugh at her. Wouldn't be the first time something like that happened.

LoRayne scoffed and rolled her eyes at the statement. "I'm almost one hundred percent certain that he likes you too." She assured.

Elizabeth sat there for a moment before shaking her head. "If he does like me, then he can tell me. Because I'm not going to make a fool of myself." She said before turning back to the vanity and brushing through her hair.

The blonde scoffed again before throwing her hands up. "Fine then, be stubborn. So can we go get food now?"

The brunette shook her head. "I still want to do my hair."

LoRayne let out a sigh while placing a hand on her forehead. "I'm going down without you then. Don't take too long." Before her friend could stop her, LoRayne pulled open the door before stepping out into the hallway. Closing the door behind her, she turned to her left and started walking.

Elizabeth sat still for a moment before shrugging her shoulders and turning back to the mirror. She continued to comb through her hair until it was free of tangles and lay flat. She then waited for it to finish drying completely before pinning it into a messy yet elegant knot at the back of her head. A knock came from the door just as she was placing the last pin in.

"Coming!" She called before getting up and walking to the door. Pulling it open, she saw a smiling Meldiriel. "Hello!"

"Evening Miss. I have been sent to inform you and your friend that dinner is being served."

Elizabeth nodded in understanding before gathering the front of her dress and lifting it slightly so she didn't trip. "LoRayne already left. But if you could show me the way, that would be wonderful."

The dark haired Elf bowed her head quickly before turning and leading the way. It was a quick trip, and they were soon standing at the top of the stairs. Elizabeth stood at the top for a few seconds, mentally preparing herself, before she slowly started her descent. Stairs were not her friend, she was often tripping and falling both up and down them. So when she was able to make it down them without even a stumble, she was very happy. What made her even happier, as well as blush, was the fact that a smiling Kili stood waiting for her.

"M'lady." He said, bending in front of her before straightening up and offering her his arm. "May I show you to your seat?"

Suppressing a giggle, Elizabeth curtsied before hooking her arm with his. "Lead the way." She replied.

The Dwarf's smile widened as he lead the way into the eating area where the Dwarves seemed to be faced with a problem.

"Try it, just a mouthful." Dori was saying to Ori as they walked passed. "You might like it."

The young Dwarf looking at a piece of lettuce just shook his head. "I don't like green food." He said while setting the leaf back down on his plate.

A few seats down, Dwalin was holding a bowl of mixed greens. "Where's the meat?" He asked, lifting the contents of the bowl as though the meat was hidden underneath it.

Oin forked a radish and held it closer to his eyes, a wiry look plastered on his face.

"Have they got any chips?" Ori asked hopefully.

When they reached the second table, Kili pulled out her chair for her and even pushed her closer to the table before taking the empty seat to her left. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks as she was not used to being treated in such a way. The moment of bliss didn't last long, however, as she noticed the empty seat to her right.

"Have either of you seen LoRayne? She left the room saying she would meet me here but I don't see her."

Fili and Kili both shared a look before shaking their heads.

"She hasn't been down." Kili said.

Elizabeth let out a sigh, "She must have gotten lost then."

"Should I go and look for her?" Fili asked quickly, placing his hands on the table about to push himself up.

Kili flashed his brother an amused look while Elizabeth just shook her head. "No. It seems stupid to send you when you could get lost as well." Fili's face fell slightly, "I think it would be best if we send an Elf."

With that, she pushed herself away from the table, gathered the front of her dress in her hands and walked over to the table where Thorin, Gandalf, Elrond, and his guard were seated. She left so quickly that she didn't even notice Fili's displeased look. She stood beside the table for a moment, uncomfortably, before she was noticed.

"Yes, Miss Ward?" Lord Elrond asked, a faint smile on his face.

Elizabeth was a little shocked at first that Elrond knew her name but got over it quickly when she reasoned that Gandalf must had told him. She then lowered herself into a curtsy before speaking. "Elizabeth, please. I'm sorry to interrupt, but I think my friend got a little lost on her way to dinner."

Elrond looked at her before turning to the blonde Elf sitting next to him. "Alagos, please go and see if you can find Miss. Chase. I'm sure you will find her wandering the hallways close to her room."

Alagos rose from his seat and bowed to Elrond before starting towards the staircase. Elizabeth watched him go for a moment before turning back to Elrond. "Thank you." She said, curtsying again before turning and returning to her seat.

* * *

It only took her about a minute before she realized she was lost. LoRayne tried going both up and down a number of staircases and hallways before she decided it was hopeless, there was no way she was going to find her way to dinner. With her stomach growling, she picked up the front of her dress and walked over to a small bench. Once seated, she let out a sign before resting her arms on her knees and her head in her hands and looking out in front of her.

Rivendell was a very open place so it wasn't hard for her to see the mountains, buildings, and waterfalls through the large openings that acted as windows in the hallways. Everything was so beautiful that it overpowered everything and she wasn't able to hear the rumbling of her stomach now. Everything was peaceful. She didn't know how long she was sitting there when she caught movement from the corner of her eye. Turning her head, she saw that an Elf was walking towards her.

He was tall, but then most Elves were, with long blonde hair. He was dressed in an elegant robe of pale blue that only made his eyes and hair stand out even more. It wasn't until he stopped in front of her that she remembered that she had already met him when they had arrived.

"_Are you Miss. Chase? Friend of Miss. Ward?_" He asked in a smooth voice, his head bent slightly so that his long hair fell to one side.

"Huh?" LoRayne found herself saying, slightly dazed by the Elf's beauty and the words he had just spoken.

"Forgive me." The male said, this time in English. "Are you Miss. Chase?"

Again LoRayne found herself unable to form words. So instead, she nodded. _Damn it, LoRayne! Snap out of it!_ She thought to herself. _You're acting like an idiot!_

A large smile appeared on the Elf's face, showing perfect white teeth. "Wonderful!" He said in a clear, strong voice. "I am Alagos. Your friend, Miss. Ward, is looking for you. Dinner has been served and the young lady said you wouldn't be happy if you missed it. Please, follow me and I shall take you there."

LoRayne blushed slightly as Alagos offered a hand. Taking a breath, she accepted it and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet. "Thank you." She said in as calm and as natural of a voice as she could. Once she was standing, Alagos offered her his arm. With her blush growing deeper, she linked arms with the Elf and let him lead her to dinner.

_Authors note:: So there it is peeps. Feel free to let me know what you think. Looking forward to the next update. It's how I picture dinner going and it's turning out pretty interesting. At least, I think so. So stay tuned :) _


	19. Dinner with Elves

**Dinner with Elves **

As it turns out, she had turned the wrong way when she had exited the room. If she had gone the other way, she would have only had to go down the hall and to the right and down another long hallway before she would have had to' have descended a set of stairs which would have brought her right to where dinner was being held. Because of her mistake, she had to face the horror of walking down the stairs in a dress, on the arm of an Elf, and in front of a bunch of people. Not embarrassing at all!

Dinner had indeed started when they arrived; and it was something that made LoRayne glade. Most of the Dwarves were too busy complaining about the food to notice her make her entrance. A few, however, did notice her entrance and shared different reactions.

"There you are!" Elizabeth called from the table, standing up to show LoRayne where a seat had been saved for her between herself and Fili.

Fili stood up as well and pulled out LoRayne's chair for her. "My lady." He said before bowing. LoRayne blushed slightly as she untangled herself from Alagos and sat down before thanking both the Dwarf and the Elf. While Fili pushed her chair in so she was closer to the table, he shot a glare at the Elf before taking his own seat. Alagos returned the favor by flashing the blonde Dwarf a slightly amused look before turning to rejoin Elrond at his table.

"What are you grumbling about?" LoRayne asked, confusion written on her face.

Fili continued to follow the Elf with his eyes before turning to the girl. "Nothing." He assured before pulling her into a conversation, complimenting her on her dress and earning a blush from LoRayne.

Everyone filled the next few minutes with simple conversation, but after a while a silence fell as everyone started turned their attention to the food.

"I really can't believe that this is all they have to offer?" Fili asked while pushing the vegetables on his plate around with his fork, his tone a mixture of disappointment and disgust

"Oh come on," Elizabeth called down to him, "Its not that bad." To prove a point, she struck a forkful of salad into her mouth and chewed with a smile on her face.

All the Dwarves at the table eyed her weirdly and acted as though it was strange for her to actually like vegetables. She stuck her tongue out playfully before turning back to Fili.

"Just try some." She insisted again before nudging LoRayne, "Help me out here."

A sheepish look appeared on the blonde's face. "I'm going to have to side with Fili here. Some vegetables are great, don't get me wrong, but serving nothing but vegetables is just wrong. I mean, we aren't rabbits."

Elizabeth stared at her while all the Dwarves started yelling their agreement as well as laughed.

"No need to be getting upset now lass." Bofur teased from across the table, commenting on the fact that Elizabeth had leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest with a sour look on her face.

"I'm not upset, you all are just being a bunch of babies, that's all."

Being called babies didn't sit well with the Dwarves. Right away they started disagreeing. Elizabeth knew that, at times, they could be very easily offended like the incident with the trolls. She had only been kidding, but felt like watching them overreact a bit before informing them it was a joke.

"We are not babies." Kili pointed out, "We are men." All the Dwarves cheered their agreement.

Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders before saying innocently, "Are you sure? Because I don't know any men who are afraid of eating a few vegetables."

"We are not afraid of eating vegetables."

"Really?" Elizabeth asked, "Prove it."

Kili looked at her for a moment before looking at the vegetables on his plate. The other Dwarves sat in silence while they watched as he slowly reached out a hand and grabbed a fist full of lettuce.

"Don't do it, Kili!" Bombur said, his eyes wide with terror.

Kili looked at him across the table before turning to Elizabeth who had an 'I'm waiting' look on her face. Behind her, LoRayne and his brother looked at him with smirks on their faces. Turning back to the green in his hand, he set a look of determination on his face before pushing the green leaves into his mouth. At once, his face contorted in disgust. But instead of spitting it out like he wanted, he slowly started chewing. Everyone watched as he continued to chew before swallowing.

"That wasn't so bad." He said weakly but with a smile forming on his face as he turned to Elizabeth. "Told you I wasn't afraid."

The brunette girl smiled before getting up slightly to wrap her arms around the Dwarf and causing his cheeks to turn a light pink color. "I'm so proud of you, you ate something healthy!"

LoRayne watched the scene with excitement on her face before turning to Fili and slapping his shoulder lightly. "Your baby brother ate a fist full of lettuce, are you just going to let him out man you like that?" She teased.

"He ate some green food. That hardly seems like a quality for a man."

The blonde female chuckled before grabbing a small handful of lettuce, "Oh come on, don't be such a grump." Quickly, she lifted her hand and brought it to the Dwarf's mouth.

Everyone laughed while Fili spate the green leaves out of his mouth while reaching for his goblet. Once the drink was downed, the now angry Dwarf glared at the girl beside him before picking up a carrot and lightly throwing it at her so that it bounced off her forehead. LoRayne sat there, stunned for a moment, before a large smile came on her face and she threw some food back at the laughing Dwarf.

And so the food fight was started. However, it didn't last long. A few of the Elves providing music got upset and Elrond announced that dinner was over. Gandalf stared at the company with a disapproving look on his face before rising and following the head Elf out of the room. Thorin glared as well until the Wizard had left the room, which was when the Dwarfs face softened as an approving smirk came on his face before he also left the room with Balin following close behind.

"Wow, the elves are a bunch of babies." Elizabeth muttered to LoRayne as she watched the group go.

"Why is that?"

"The mess the Dwarves made at Bilbo's house was three times worse than this." The Brunette explained as she rose from her seat, her friend and the Dwarves doing the same.

LoRayne let that bit of information sink into her brain for a moment before barking out a loud laugh. Elizabeth joined in the laughter for a few moments as they started to slowly make their way towards the stairs.

"The sad thing is that the night is still young." LoRayne pointed out, "There is still plenty of time for them to cause trouble." This comment started another round of laughter between the girls. They were so busy laughing that they didn't notice Fili and Kili walk over to them.

"So are you two really going to go off to bed or will you be joining us Dwarves?" Fili asked, chuckling as he watched both girls jump and spin around, their hands over their pounding hearts. .

"I heard that some of the others are going to raid the kitchen for some meat and other real food!" Kili added excitedly.

Her heart finally settling, Elizabeth laughed at the two before turning to LoRayne. "I don't know about you, but I want to get out of this dress."

LoRayne nodded before turning back to the brothers. "We'll go change and then have one of the Elves take us to where you guys are staying." She assured.

Large smiles appeared on Fili and Kili's faces before they nodded.

"Great!"

The two girls shook their heads playfully at the brothers before leaving the dining room and heading back to their room. Elizabeth, who had paid attention during the two trips with Meldiriel, led the way to avoid them getting lost.

* * *

_Authors note:: So there you go! I kinda like this update. Feel free to let me know what you think in a message or review, they make my day. _


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